The Friction Problem
Modern platforms reward whatever is most clickable, not whatever is most true. Long-form reading introduces friction that makes quackery harder to sustain.
The original snake oil salesperson was Clark Stanley, who introduced "Clark Stanley's Snake Oil Liniment" to a gullible crowd at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Stanley sold his miracle cure successfully until the early 1900s. At that time, ordinary people had almost no access to trustworthy medicine and no regulations prevented the sale of such products. When a bottle promising miraculous healing appeared, it was hard to resist.
Today isn't much different. We have social media gurus, finance bros, and coaches for every problem your heart desires to solve. They all make Clark's same promise: like a magic potion, their products and services will effortlessly fix your problems. Modern audiences are trained to consume short, emotionally charged media instead of material that demands depth, argument, and evidence—a shift that has normalized what we now see.
Long-form books and serious reading introduce friction and context that make traditional quackery harder to sustain. The attention-driven architecture of modern platforms rewards whatever is most clickable, not whatever is most true.