Fake Virality
It it's TRENDINNNNNNNNNNNNNNG!!--you can probably ignore it
CARROLLTON, TX - CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION (GLOB)—Remember how immigrants were eating pets in Springfield, Ohio? If you are thinking, “Oh yeah. Whatever happened with that?” then you have survived a FOG event (Fleeting Overhyped Gossip).
This is the Techno-Gossip Age, the old instinct to whisper, speculate, and spread dubious tales has been amped up by algorithms and weaponized by engagement metrics. And just like old-fashioned gossip, even when people know it’s unreliable, they still listen. They still share. They still react.
But here’s the thing: You don’t have to.
1. The Viral Illusion
Social media's algorithms prioritize engagement, which means outrage, sensationalism, and novelty over substance. This creates a "false consensus effect," where people involved in a trending topic assume that everyone is paying attention or that it carries outsized importance.
In reality, most people are either unaware or dismissive of these ephemeral trends. It only feels important because it's been shoved in your face by an algorithm designed to keep you hooked.
Add to this the Rise of the Bot. Estimates of bot prevalence vary, with studies suggesting that bots account for approximately 15% of Twitter users. Meaning 15% of the traffic is just algorithmic noise—and nothing else. (Source: Wikipedia)
However, other analyses propose even higher figures; for instance, a 2022 study estimated that 24–37% of daily active Twitter users who tweet are bot accounts. (Source: Yofi | Stop Policy Abuse & Bad Actors)
So not only is viral news gossip, but a lot of it isn’t even coming from real people.
🛑 Solution: Remind yourself of the gap between social media buzz and real-world importance. A trending topic doesn’t necessarily equate to widespread impact or consensus—it just means it’s algorithmically amplified. If bots and algorithms amplify it, you can ignore it.
2. The Memory Hole Effect
Even the most sensational viral stories disappear faster than a politician's campaign promise. Scandals, controversies, and "major events" that dominate online chatter for a day or two often vanish without a trace, leaving behind no lasting impact.
The Springfield pet-eating scare? Gone.
The balloon hysteria? Gone.
The laser-squirrel conspiracy? Never mind, that one might be real.
This fleeting nature should clue us in: if something was actually important, it wouldn’t need constant hype to stay relevant—it would persist because it mattered. Instead, most viral news is the intellectual equivalent of fast food gossip: designed for quick consumption and emotional reaction, not long-term nutrition.
And yet, people listen. People spread it. People react, hard, because the urge to engage with gossip is stronger than the urge to ignore it.
🛑 Solution: If a story feels urgent, give it a week. If it's still being discussed by people who aren’t addicted to their news feeds, it might be worth paying attention to. If not, congratulations. You just avoided another Techno-Gossip trap.
3. Manufactured Outrage & The Incentive Machine
Media outlets, influencers, and content creators thrive on engagement. Outrage drives clicks, and clicks drive revenue. This means that whether it's a real issue or pure nonsense, there's always a financial incentive to keep you emotionally invested.
Consider how many viral stories follow the same predictable cycle:
Outrageous claim spreads (based on shaky evidence, a bad faith interpretation, or a 3-second clip).
Instant backlash, because that’s how the internet works.
Actual facts start coming out, but they’re less exciting, so fewer people see them.
The original claim quietly fades away or is debunked, but the outrage remains in the minds of those who moved on too quickly to notice.
This is why viral news should be ignored. You are not "staying informed." You are being led by people who profit from your outrage.
🛑 Solution: Ask yourself, "Who benefits from me being angry about this?" If the answer is "some guy selling ad space," it's safe to move on.
The Takeaway
The thing about gossip, whether it’s whispered over a backyard fence or blasted through a hive of bots and engagement algorithms, is that people listen even when they know better. Viral news is just techno-fueled gossip, but instead of a nosy neighbor, it's an AI-driven engagement machine force-feeding you drama.
And what happens when you chase the FOG? You waste time. You fill your head with hollow outrage over things that probably never mattered. You let manufactured nonsense hijack your attention, your emotions, maybe even your sanity. And for what?
Chasing this FOG is a waste of time. Do you like being tensed out over stuff you won’t even remember tomorrow? Is your day really better because you indulged in outrage over something that wasn’t even real? What do you get out of FOG? What have you missed by focusing on mist?
Do you even remember what had you worked up yesterday? Don’t let manufactured nonsense obscure your vision. You don’t need a fog lamp. You just need to stay out of the fog.
If it’s hyped hard, it’s not worth your attention.
I must certainly remember these key points, in attempt to calm the elderly people in my life who become genuinely frightened and angry, regularly at the Fog. This article is priceless. Thank you articulating and visualizing so powerfully.
I'm pretty desensitized to the FOG at this point. Have you noticed that each scandalous "news story" fades faster and faster? As soon as it is consumed, it becomes irrelevant lately.