How social media harms democracy

Yes, foreign powers have tried to meddle in US elections. But for Ian Bremmer, external disinformation efforts pale in comparison to the internal damage Americans can do.

What's more, under its new ownership Twitter is so far unleashing more anger, hatred, and violence on social media, Bremmer says during a conversation with former Australian PM and Asia Society President and CEO Kevin Rudd at the Asia Society's headquarters in New York.

But it's not just a Twitter problem. For Bremmer, social media's business model allows A/B testing to be done on American society on the basis of what's more addictive — not what's better. And that, obviously, is bad for democracy.

American disunity and social media platforms that have become more influential than ever before, he adds, are a far greater danger to US democracy than China or Russia.