Thank you for the comment and your thoughts, Tizeta.
I took a look at the article. It adds to what seems increasingly clear: Maalvika is a real person, with a public academic footprint and, I’d imagine, a real emotional journey through all of this. While I certainly don't condone what she did, I am sure that this has been a difficult experience for her as well.
As I mentioned in the piece, I wasn’t drawn in because I wanted to take sides or investigate further. I found myself pulled in despite myself. It wasn't the the drama itself, but the strange emotions it stirred in me: questions around authorship, integrity, and the fragile nature of trust in digital spaces. That trust, for me, is the real casualty here.
I’m not interested in digging through other essays or assessing patterns. While I was originally drawn into that spiral, I realize that's not my place. I imagine it’s something best left to the people directly involved, and to their own conscience.
Sometimes, the harshest things we notice in others are the very things we’re afraid might be seen in us. This one acted a bit like a mirror. It allowed me to wonder how much of my own thinking and creation is truly mine. That thought has softened my view of the whole situation, and reminded me how easy it is to judge when we’re hurting or scared.
Whatever the full truth may be, I sincerely hope this has been a moment of growth for everyone caught in its wake. I wish them both clarity, peace, and healing in their own time.
I enjoyed reading this, you are a very animated and entertaining writer. And to answer your comment on my post, I do agree with you and I think multiple things are true at once. I agree, the lines are getting blurred, as Americans (please be American lol) we are obsessed with "justice" for sociopolitical reasons.
I actually have a theory that social media websites will only take off if there's two things: conflict with a clear winner and loser that an overwhelming majority of the website can agree upon and if a meme can start on that site and travel elsewhere. So I think your analysis part of why the debacle is addicting and drawn out. I like your definition and explanation of performance, definitely something to think about.
Thank you. That means a lot. I really enjoyed reading your article as well. I completely agree with you that multiple things can be (and probably are) true at once. And our cultural obsession with conflict and “justice” definitely fuels how these situations seem to play out (and drag on). Your theory about what makes a platform take off makes sense: conflict and virality are certainly the key ingredients. That seems to be the basic theory in the documentary, The Antisocial Network, as well. It’s a sad state of affairs we find ourselves in online (and off) these days. Quite strange.
Glenn, this is truly a brilliant piece though a bit removed from your wheelhouse. It should be special interest to those of us over 60, 70, or like me in my 80s, because it makes us realize how far out of touch we are with the world of these two young women. They're bright, audacious and superb writers using a language far removed from our standard fare, the New Yorker, NY Review, the Atlantic etc. My generation has avoided social media because of how it has catastrophically impacted everything from culture to politics, undermining the civil and reasonable America we came to take for granted. Looking under the hood it was to designed to give voice to the worst of the worst. But there's clearly another side to it, probably quite small, where an intelligence we find hard to relate to flourishes. And at this age enormously interesting.
Thank you so much, Howard. I so appreciate this reflection.
You're absolutely right: this one did feel a bit outside my usual wheelhouse (I hope it wasn't too jarring). I don’t often follow Internet drama, let alone write about it. And yet, something in this story pulled it out of me. It seemed to stir something deep that I didn't quite understand at first: questions of voice, authorship, agency, and this strange tension I keep feeling between performance and sincerity in our digital lives.
You are so right about the catastrophe that social media has unleashed on our society. It hurts when I think too long about it. Witnessing this public unfolding and then recently watching The Antisocial Network brought all of that into focus in an awkwardly revealing way.
It still feels a bit strange to have written this. But I think that strangeness was the signal: a small emotional flare I couldn’t ignore. And the only way I know how to understand those moments is by writing through them.
Grateful, as always, for your thoughtful presence here.
The casualty is trust - indeed! Such helpful observations, my friend.
“It’s all of us. Watching. Writing. Scrolling. Commenting. Quoting. Paraphrasing. Trying to find our place in a digital ecosystem where ownership is slippery, algorithms reward speed over process, and trust – real trust – is hard, if not impossible, to come by.”
Thank you, Abby — that means a lot. I’m so glad that line resonated. It’s a strange thing to write about trust in a space that often erodes it. Your comment helps me remember it’s still out there. Grateful for you 🙏
I am kind of embarrassed by how closely I followed this. Internet pile ons aren’t noble. And… the fact that it appears M fabricated evidence after the fact is sooo juicy. This all made me want to step away from this app.
The author of this article is Maalivka. If you are invested, you can see how much of this, if any, is plagiarized or AI.
When she lied in her apology and was caught, that was the absolute end for me.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3643834.3660722
Thank you for the comment and your thoughts, Tizeta.
I took a look at the article. It adds to what seems increasingly clear: Maalvika is a real person, with a public academic footprint and, I’d imagine, a real emotional journey through all of this. While I certainly don't condone what she did, I am sure that this has been a difficult experience for her as well.
As I mentioned in the piece, I wasn’t drawn in because I wanted to take sides or investigate further. I found myself pulled in despite myself. It wasn't the the drama itself, but the strange emotions it stirred in me: questions around authorship, integrity, and the fragile nature of trust in digital spaces. That trust, for me, is the real casualty here.
I’m not interested in digging through other essays or assessing patterns. While I was originally drawn into that spiral, I realize that's not my place. I imagine it’s something best left to the people directly involved, and to their own conscience.
Sometimes, the harshest things we notice in others are the very things we’re afraid might be seen in us. This one acted a bit like a mirror. It allowed me to wonder how much of my own thinking and creation is truly mine. That thought has softened my view of the whole situation, and reminded me how easy it is to judge when we’re hurting or scared.
Whatever the full truth may be, I sincerely hope this has been a moment of growth for everyone caught in its wake. I wish them both clarity, peace, and healing in their own time.
I enjoyed reading this, you are a very animated and entertaining writer. And to answer your comment on my post, I do agree with you and I think multiple things are true at once. I agree, the lines are getting blurred, as Americans (please be American lol) we are obsessed with "justice" for sociopolitical reasons.
I actually have a theory that social media websites will only take off if there's two things: conflict with a clear winner and loser that an overwhelming majority of the website can agree upon and if a meme can start on that site and travel elsewhere. So I think your analysis part of why the debacle is addicting and drawn out. I like your definition and explanation of performance, definitely something to think about.
Thank you. That means a lot. I really enjoyed reading your article as well. I completely agree with you that multiple things can be (and probably are) true at once. And our cultural obsession with conflict and “justice” definitely fuels how these situations seem to play out (and drag on). Your theory about what makes a platform take off makes sense: conflict and virality are certainly the key ingredients. That seems to be the basic theory in the documentary, The Antisocial Network, as well. It’s a sad state of affairs we find ourselves in online (and off) these days. Quite strange.
And yes, American 😜. Grateful for the exchange.
Glenn, this is truly a brilliant piece though a bit removed from your wheelhouse. It should be special interest to those of us over 60, 70, or like me in my 80s, because it makes us realize how far out of touch we are with the world of these two young women. They're bright, audacious and superb writers using a language far removed from our standard fare, the New Yorker, NY Review, the Atlantic etc. My generation has avoided social media because of how it has catastrophically impacted everything from culture to politics, undermining the civil and reasonable America we came to take for granted. Looking under the hood it was to designed to give voice to the worst of the worst. But there's clearly another side to it, probably quite small, where an intelligence we find hard to relate to flourishes. And at this age enormously interesting.
Thank you so much, Howard. I so appreciate this reflection.
You're absolutely right: this one did feel a bit outside my usual wheelhouse (I hope it wasn't too jarring). I don’t often follow Internet drama, let alone write about it. And yet, something in this story pulled it out of me. It seemed to stir something deep that I didn't quite understand at first: questions of voice, authorship, agency, and this strange tension I keep feeling between performance and sincerity in our digital lives.
You are so right about the catastrophe that social media has unleashed on our society. It hurts when I think too long about it. Witnessing this public unfolding and then recently watching The Antisocial Network brought all of that into focus in an awkwardly revealing way.
It still feels a bit strange to have written this. But I think that strangeness was the signal: a small emotional flare I couldn’t ignore. And the only way I know how to understand those moments is by writing through them.
Grateful, as always, for your thoughtful presence here.
The casualty is trust - indeed! Such helpful observations, my friend.
“It’s all of us. Watching. Writing. Scrolling. Commenting. Quoting. Paraphrasing. Trying to find our place in a digital ecosystem where ownership is slippery, algorithms reward speed over process, and trust – real trust – is hard, if not impossible, to come by.”
Thank you, Abby — that means a lot. I’m so glad that line resonated. It’s a strange thing to write about trust in a space that often erodes it. Your comment helps me remember it’s still out there. Grateful for you 🙏
I am kind of embarrassed by how closely I followed this. Internet pile ons aren’t noble. And… the fact that it appears M fabricated evidence after the fact is sooo juicy. This all made me want to step away from this app.