After Elon Musk’s gut renovation of Twitter, now known as X, other platforms like TikTok and Mastodon attempted to take its place as the new hub. But as users flock to various apps and algorithms replace follower-based feeds, the very core of social media is changing.

Oh where, oh where has the global town square gone?

“There is more content, there are more subcultures and niches, memes happening and proliferating every day, but they’re increasingly siloed,” said The Atlantic’s Charlie Warzel. “Things are happening across a wide array of platforms. And it’s very difficult to sort of take the temperature of all of it.”

On the show today, Warzel explains the silo-ification of social media, what it means to go viral on today’s internet and how the changing medium might impact the 2024 elections. Plus, a potential upside to the fragmented social media landscape.

Then, we’ll get into a new Treasury rule targeting shady shell companies. And, the world’s biggest car exporter is … China? We’ll explain. Plus, how “Choose Your Own Adventure” stories became such a hit.

Later, a listener makes us smart about gin’s devilish tendencies. And, Farnoosh Torabi, author of “A Healthy State of Panic,” was wrong about being fearless.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “Nobody Knows What’s Happening Online Anymore” from The Atlantic 

• “TikTok’s biggest hits are videos you’ve probably never seen” from The Verge

• “The Great Social Media–News Collapse” from The Atlantic

• “U.S. companies in no hurry to disclose ownership under new Treasury rule” from CNBC

• “45 Years Ago, One Kids Book Series Taught A Generation How To Make Bad Decisions” from Fatherly

• “China Becomes the World’s Biggest Auto Exporter—With Help From Russia” from The Wall Street Journal

If you’ve got a question, comment or submission for a state drink, send them our way. We’re at 508-UB-SMART or email makemesmart@marketplace.org.