The process you've outlined is a classic example of the telephone game gone digital. Remarkable stories, like the 13-year-old Tetris prodigy, often become raw material for a content mill that’s geared towards engagement rather than accuracy. Each retelling introduces new distortions as outlets race to publish their own versions, sidestepping depth for speed and sensation. It's a tale of decay, where the signal gets progressively weaker with every hop.<p>This reflects a broader systemic issue within the attention economy. The currency here isn't truth; it's engagement, clicks, and ad revenue. In such an economy, the incentive to maintain the integrity of information is often outweighed by the push for monetization, which naturally leads to sensationalism and loss of nuance.<p>As for the role of search engines, they are simply a mirror to our collective behavior reinforced through algorithms that prioritize popularity over provenance. The 'enshitification net', as coined, isn't just a network of misinformation but also a reflection of our consumption habits and the value we—as a society—place on quick, digestible content.<p>In recognising these flaws, platforms like HN indeed find themselves in influencer roles, not by direct action but by virtue of their position within the information ecosystem. Acknowledging this influence is the first step towards fostering a more discerning readership and, hopefully, a more robust information landscape.