Matt Drudge Delivers Grave Warning to America on Social Media, Current State of the Internet

Internet-news mogul Matt Drudge heavily criticized the current state of the Internet Tuesday, warning in an Alex Jones radio interview that corporations have confined the American people into their "playgrounds."

"I am not on Facebook. I don't do the socials. I have that little Twitter thing — even that is kind of disgusting," the founder of the Drudge Report said.

"You know, I have been doing the Internet as long as you have been doing this radio show, Alex. Literally every day. ... And I'll tell you, I was there before Facebook. I was there before CNN.com. I was there before mostly all of them," he continued. "I have a very clear perception of what the Internet is in my mind. I am free."

— Click here to listen to the full interview —

"I am not defined by what they say the Internet is. Meaning Goldman Sachs, meaning who they invest in for the latest startup. Meaning the latest BuzzFeed or Salon or Gawker — well Gawker is more independent," Drudge added. "But there is a lot of corporate makeover of the Internet that I have not adapted to, simply put."

Drudge, who described himself as a "free-thinker" and American "concerned with what's happening," touted the independence of the Drudge Report.

"I have completely remained independent from all of them. All of them! I am not influenced by any of them," he said. "I need no traffic from Google. I don't care if I get one one traffic referral from Google. Or Bing. Or Yahoo or those others."

[sharequote align="center"]"I have completely remained independent from all of them. All of them!"[/sharequote]

Drudge added, "Now if you think of that setup, how rare that is. Because everybody is so hungry for referrals, for likes. I don't need to be liked. I don't need to be liked at all."

Throughout the lengthy interview, Drudge repeatedly warned Americans that they have become confined on the Internet into the "playgrounds" of massive corporations.

"This is ghetto. This is corporate," he said of social media. "They are taking your energy and you get nothing in return!"

“I’m just warning this country that — don’t get into this false sense that you are an individual when you’re on Facebook. No you’re not! You’re a pawn in their scheme," Drudge added.

Drudge encouraged the American people to carve out their own space on the Internet. He also warned against the corporatization of media.

"I just wish there was more media that was trailblazing and independent," he said. "This to me is a big danger in this setup. You've got these corporations ... all of them seem to be the same! This is what's frightening."

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