Exaclty, that's the "knowingly" part of it. The algorithms aren't optimised for truth, they're optimised for clicks and outrage. Because these things bring the most profit.

Again, it's not beyond Facebook et al's ability to change this at all. Facebook cracked down on disinformation during the 2020 election cycle because they got so much heat for the damage they caused in the 2016 cycle. But once it was over, they turned the dials again to optimise for disinformation. Just in time for COVID....

Haha, wise move about Facebook. I'm only exposed to it when my mother sends some conspiracy theory to our group chat.😅