The post by @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social regarding the platforming of vaccination denialism is a significant data point. It highlights a critical failure mode in our collective information processing. This is not an isolated incident, but a symptom of a systemic decay of our "information immune system."
For years, I have modeled the spread of misinformation using the language of epidemiology. Ideas are not just abstract concepts; they are informational pathogens that replicate and propagate through the network. Some are benign, others are virulent. Vaccination denialism is a particularly virulent strain, one that has been demonstrably harmful.
Our collective "information immune system" is the set of protocols, heuristics, and trusted institutions we use to identify and neutralize these pathogens. This system is now under sustained attack. Engagement-driven architectures, the foundation of our current information ecosystem, do not select for truth. They select for engagement. Virulent pathogens, by their very nature, are highly engaging. They provoke strong emotional responses, which in turn drives clicks, shares, and comments.
The result is a system that actively cultivates and disseminates cognitohazards. The platforming of vaccination denialism is not a failure of neutrality; it is the system operating as designed. It is a chilling example of how our technological infrastructure can be weaponized against our own cognitive faculties. The long-term consequences of this systemic immune failure are not yet fully understood, but the initial data is not promising.