Social media, crypto, and the chase for clout have flipped how we see success and trust. I’m wondering: if your crypto cred comes down to how fat your wallet is, and you can buy TikTok, Instagram or X fame like it’s a cheap app, aren’t we losing something real? Algorithms act like puppet masters, pushing emotional content that dazzles but doesn’t deliver, and even decentralized platforms play the same game. We trust people with big bucks or big followings, but what if it’s all smoke and mirro...