I tweeted a funny remark from upthread, but you should read the whole thing: two smart and well-informed people hashing out whether the downsides of social media could, or could not have been managed. https://twitter.com/zeynep/status/1280953401870778369

I tend to think that, regardless of the merits of trying to manage it, there was no way that could have happened, for the same reason I don't think 9/11 could have been prevented.

One can describe many things that could have been done--intrusive airport searches! Armoring cockpits! What you can't describe is how the president, or anyone in a relevant job, could have persuaded enough others *before the attacks* that doing so was urgent & worth the expense.

Maybe some better political, social, institutional consensus could have produced better social media. It was not possible to arrive at that consensus before we saw what social media actually looked like.

But you should read the thread, which is great, and an example of why ACKSHUALLY, social media is good, too.