How social media's algorithms worsen political polarization

In Max Fisher's new book "The Chaos Machine," he examines how social media giants like Facebook and Twitter contributed to political divisions in modern America.
Author Max Fisher says the core objective of social media companies today is to maximize user's time on sites so that they can sell as many ads as possible. He believes this comes at a clear cost.

"This is something that has proven so consistently harmful and so transformative in so many ways that there is a growing sense that that fundamentally has to be engineered out if we're ever going to have a healthier social fabric again," Fisher says.

Fisher joined KCUR's Up To Date to discuss his new book, "The Chaos Machine," and explain the ways in which social media prioritized profit and caused polarization.