A standalone house in the suburbs of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.
At seven in the evening, Hank Norman had just finished his day's work.
He sat on a sagging old sofa, a can of cold beer in his hand.
A replay of a football game was on the TV in front of him, but he wasn't watching.
His eyes were glued to the cracked screen of the phone in his hand.
His TikTok news feed scrolled by under his thumb.
The information wasn't particularly complex.
Hank's screen was filled with nothing but short videos and articles with bold, red text, all set to ominous background music.
It was a world tailor-made for him by the algorithm.
A video popped up. The title read: *Exclusive Exposé: Washington's New Healthcare Bill is Actually a Sell-Off Agreement*.
Onscreen, a masked man calling himself a member of the "Patriot Front" held a blurry copy of a document up to the camera.
"Brothers, wake up."
The masked man lowered his voice, his tone urgent.
