Traffic

Traffic is the origin story of the post-truth age—an inside tale of two online media rivals, Nick Denton of Gawker Media and Jonah Peretti of HuffPost and BuzzFeed. Their ardent pursuit of mass attention unleashed the dark forces that eventually overtook the internet and American society.

"Engrossing and suspenseful." - The New York Times

"Expertly pulls readers in." - The Guardian

"Smith sharply chronicles the revolutionary moment." - Financial Times

If attention is the new oil, then Traffic is the narrative of the time between the first gusher and the discernible impact of climate change. The story begins in Soho in the early 2000s, after the initial dot-com crash but before the rise of Google, Apple, and Facebook, marking a time when New York City, rather than Silicon Valley, seemed poised to become the tech epicentre.

During this period, Nick Denton’s eclectic group at his Gawker empire and Jonah Peretti’s more optimistic team at HuffPost and BuzzFeed laid the foundations of viral internet media. Ben Smith, known for his contentious tenure as BuzzFeed News's editor in chief, documents these events with remarkable clarity and a touch of dark humour.

Traffic delves into one of the major ironies of our time: the internet, initially anticipated to empower the left to remake the world, has become a major force for right-wing populism. Figures like Steve Bannon and Andrew Breitbart, who once appeared as minor characters in the narrative starring Nick and Jonah, have now taken centre stage. To comprehend our current landscape, Traffic is both essential and captivating reading.