Charlie Kirk's mastery of social media was key to his rise as an influence in conservative politics. The extent to which his killing in Utah and its aftermath played out on those forums shouldn't come as a surprise.

Social media is where Americans went to process his killing and is the chief tool his supporters use to police those they feel aren't offering proper respect. Investigators are probing the time the man accused of killing Kirk, Tyler Robinson, spent in the "dark corners of the internet" leading up to when he allegedly pulled the trigger.

All of this is forcing a closer look at the technologies that changed our lives, how they control what we see and understand through algorithms, and the way all the time we spend on them affects our view of the world.

Cox emerges as powerful

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