Digital media invented the Thanksgiving argument

Liberal, millennial-focused news outlets took a great pride in an us-versus-them narrative, just as conservative outlets demonized the allegedly effete coastal elites. And here’s the thing: it’s profitable. A now-famous (The) Ohio State University study found a decade ago that you likely spend about a third more time with news you agree with. Outrage and anger are more easily sold for profit, so to speak — people are more likely to click on something that seems somehow scary or hyperbolic. All of this leads to more ad impressions.

What we’re left with is an unfortunate catch-22 — click-hungry news sites that spend 51 weeks out of the year sowing the seeds of partisanship between readers and their unwoke families, and the 52nd week publishing traffic-friendly stories about how to deal with those family members over the Thanksgiving dinner table. Even after Facebook cracked down on these hyperpartisan news outlets, the trope of the Thanksgiving battleground remained, making its way into mainstream news publications that see it as an apt strategy for pulling in some general-interest clicks.