FB didn't invent clickbait, but they made it way more insidious. Tabloids didn't go viral like FB posts do. Just as guns and nukes don't kill people, but they do make it easier.

Really, I see Facebook as the A-bomb of virality and fomenting extremism. It is devastatingly effective. That's why they've made so much money. Much more than the NYTimes or National Enquirer or Drudge Report. It's not just another media source, it's a game changer at harnessing people's attention and outraging them as quickly as possible. At scale, with 1 billion users, this has world-changing effects.