The New "Independent Thinking"

I read an article praising Trevor Noah's recent performance on the Daily Show when he hosted Tomi Lahren. The article noted his ability to stay somewhat more neutral and measured than hosts of some other late-night show hosts when such shows are increasingly partisan. I wanted to watch the interview, so I searched YouTube for "trevor noah tomi lahren," and the results were both interesting and disappointing.

Two of the top three results are titled "Tomi Lahren Destroys Trevor Noah" and "Trevor Noah Destroys Tomi Lahren." This is only one small example of the larger trend towards shameless confirmation bias and echo chamber news. Facts and critical thinking no longer matter--if you supported Trump, he won all three debates. If you supported Clinton, she won all three debates. If you supported Trump, you probably didn't know that many Clinton supporters, and if you supported Clinton, you probably didn't know that many Trump supporters. (New York Times: Sixty percent of voters live in a county where the winner won by twenty or more points). Your Facebook news feed likely reflects that. It seems "independent thinking" has come to mean thinking you're right independent of the facts.