We’re Being Conditioned to Hate
The media, influencers, and algorithms profit from our worst instincts
The world is full of negativity — wars, disease, injustice, and inequality. We constantly expect the worst, and that takes a toll on our mental health. Depression is skyrocketing. Suicidal ideation is on the rise. And cynicism has become widespread. But where does this come from?
The media amplifies our fears by taking advantage of an evolutionary trait: our tendency to notice threats as a means of survival. This ancient bias is now being exploited by the media, tech companies, and influencers. Their aim isn’t to inform — it’s to addict. The more anxious we are, the more they profit.
Negativity bias is our tendency to focus more on negative stimuli than positive or neutral ones. It has an evolutionary basis. Early humans survived by overreacting to threats. Paying attention to snakes, predators, or social rejection had higher survival stakes than noticing beauty or comfort.
Positive memories fade faster, and the brain stores negative experiences more vividly. This shapes our emotional lives. One insult outweighs five compliments — a truth we’ve all felt. Unfortunately, the mainstream media exploits this in their coverage of movements, politics, and crime.
On the night of November 12, 2022, University of Idaho students Xana and Ethan attended a campus fraternity party. They returned to their off-campus home at around 1:45 am. Their housemates, Madison and Kaylee, had spent the night at a local bar. They came home at around 1:30 am and went to bed.
Around 4:00 am, a masked black figure broke into the house. The figure navigated upstairs and stabbed each housemate to death — their blood spattering across the bedroom walls. The suspect, Kohberger, was arrested on December 30, 2022.
The media quickly sensationalized him. Tabloids said he had a “psychopathic stare”. Influencers branded him a “cold-blooded killer”. And body-language experts described him as a “charming narcissist”. These loaded terms feed fear and panic. They serve narrative hooks, not the truth. And by stripping away the details, they distract from real issues: legal process, context, and motive. There was no effort to understand the suspect, to portray him as anything other than a monster. Behind the headlines, the situation was far more complicated.
Kohberger struggled with heroin abuse in high school. Former classmates described him as awkward, bullied, and reserved. He vented mental distress on internet forums: “I feel no emotions”, “I’m stuck in a void”, and “I have no self-worth”. And less than two weeks before the murders, he was fired from his job as a teaching assistant. These crucial elements of the story were either downplayed or ignored by the media.
Kohberger’s case is just one example of a larger media trend. The media often lies by omission. They withhold crucial information to mislead the public — not by accident, but by design. One of their goals is to boost engagement; another is to push political agendas.
During the 2020 Trump-Biden race, for example, major outlets like The New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal opted not to cover the Hunter Biden laptop scandal. Links to the New York Post’s article on the story were blocked by Twitter and Facebook. Meanwhile, CBS executives shut down Catherine Herridge’s attempt to report the case. When the media suppresses negativity, it’s rarely out of principle — it’s because of politics. Even its handling of negativity bias is biased.
On social media, influencers have taken note. Figures like Andrew Tate weaponize negativity, using statements like “my sister is her husband’s property” to spark outrage and drive virality. They exploit our biggest differences — gender, religion, political persuasion — for personal gain.
There’s an incentive for this behaviour. Algorithms don’t care if content is loving or hateful. They care about engagement. And if anger brings that engagement, they’re all for it. Negativity outperforms positivity every time.
We see this everywhere. Videos on YouTube titled “destroying feminist/leftist/libtard” get millions of views. Clips of heated debates go viral on TikTok. And reaction videos have become a content genre. Negativity isn’t a byproduct of social media — it’s a format.
This isn’t random. It’s driven by the way platforms reward content. The more moderate a creator is, the harder it will be for them to grow. And the more extreme they become, the faster they rise. This forces even decent creators to become louder and meaner to stay relevant. Many creators don’t believe in the hardline positions they adopt, but they express them publicly because it’s profitable to do so.
While gains can be made on the individual level, negativity imposes huge costs on society.
First, studies confirm that exposure to high-conflict content leads to increased political polarization over time. Second, extremist elements use social media to find new recruits. And finally, doomscrolling — the nonstop consumption of negative news — has been found to raise cortisol, contributing to anxiety, depression, fatigue, and insomnia. This harms immune function and cardiovascular health. There’s also a contagion effect: the more stressed you become, the more anxious your circle becomes.
We can’t fully escape negativity. It floods the news, the internet, and our social circles. But we can recognize when it’s being weaponized — and awareness is the first step toward resistance. We can choose what we click and what we share. We can seek out both sides of a story, and stop parroting the narratives handed to us. These choices aren’t optional if we want to improve society.
Because the more negativity we consume, the more we become what we fear.
Betcha this nut was a heavy “porn” user, bet a million dollars. Didn’t make him “less dangerous.” Media won’t ask that question though. What’s filling men and boys with hate? Not cnn, they just suck. You’re right it’s not random. But if we hadn’t allowed boys to be pumped full of “porn” the internet would be a less hateful place. But we’re retarded.