Today, Knight Foundation is gathering a group of media thought leaders for a discussion about new ways for people to participate in elections through digital tools and content. Follow the conversation via #knightelect.

The man behind LOL Cats, FAILBlog and probably a few Internet memes you haven’t even heard of yet knows a thing or two about building strong online communities. And he says today’s political media are falling short when it comes to engaging voters.

Politics is already a turnoff to most Americans. The rise of partisanship, a deeply divided electorate, and a Congress seen as dysfunctional during this year’s budget and spending debates has only fed into the despair. Is social media to blame? Huh says the shift from qualitative to quantitative communication is certainly a culprit. He explains:  “Prior to the Internet, we had qualitative conversation, where I just talked with friends. Now, on Facebook, I have a score. A number of people who commented or liked what I said.  That’s a dramatic shift in the way people communicate. If you want to be popular, there’s now a scoreboard. “OMFG HATE!!!!” is now a more valid vehicle of communication than before. This makes polarization of information more palatable and rewarding.” It also leads to a precarious situation for truth-tellers. “The desire to be loved by people we talk to drives our need to say things they want to hear,” said Huh. “None of our systems are incentivizing for the economy of truth over the economy of popularity.” We talked with Ben about the polarization problem in politics and the media sources that are getting engaging political coverage right.

Elise Hu is covering the event as a freelance blogger for KnightBlog. She is the digital editor of StateImpact at NPR.