The Press Box Bomani Jones Talks Social Media on Trial, AI Use, and the State of Hip-Hop Media
Apr 3, 2026
Bomani Jones, host of The Right Time and sharp cultural critic, joins to unpack social media’s landmark liability verdict and what it means for 2026. He talks about building audiences amid clip culture and bot-driven outrage. They critique hip-hop media’s shift toward pay-for-access and soft coverage. Bomani also explains practical AI uses, worries about its costs, and comments on recent college basketball and athlete coverage.
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Infinite Scroll Turned Friends Into Content Portals
- Bomani and Joel argue social apps intentionally design for addiction using infinite scroll and content as portals, not genuine social connection.
- Bomani says platforms evolved from connecting friends to occupying attention with algorithmic content and AI-generated feeds.
Lawsuit Win Is Small Money But Big Precedent
- Bomani sees the California verdict against Meta as potentially precedent-setting because platforms know their products are harmful yet opaque.
- He predicts more lawsuits and appeals, noting the ruling is small money but big legal signal to regulators and plaintiffs.
From Real Fans To Bots Pushed Bomani Offline
- Bomani recounts going from meaningful interactions to realizing much of Twitter engagement were bots, so he stopped engaging entirely.
- He describes turning on filters, getting no real interaction, then turning them off and confirming bot-driven responses.