After Elon Musk’s gut renovation of Twitter, now known as X, other platforms like TikTok and Mastodon attempted to take its place as the new hub. But as users flock to various apps and algorithms replace follower-based feeds, the very core of social media is changing. On the show today, The Atlantic’s Charlie Warzel explains the silo-ification of social media, what it means to go viral on today’s internet and how the changing medium might impact the 2024 elections. Plus, a potential upside to the fragmented social media landscape.
Then, we’ll get into what the U.S. is doing about shady shell companies, how China became the world’s biggest car exporter and get smart about gin.

Here’s everything we talked about today:




“Nobody Knows What’s Happening Online Anymore” from The Atlantic







“TikTok’s biggest hits are videos you’ve probably never seen” from The Verge







“The Great Social Media–News Collapse” from The Atlantic







“U.S. companies in no hurry to disclose ownership under new Treasury rule” from CNBC







“45 Years Ago, One Kids Book Series Taught A Generation How To Make Bad Decisions” from Fatherly







“China Becomes the World’s Biggest Auto Exporter—With Help From Russia” from The Wall Street Journal





If you’ve got a question, comment or submission for a state drink, send them our way. We’re at 508-UB-SMART or email makemesmart@marketplace.org.