I often feel with social media that there is a pull to the extreme in discussions, as in a sort of adaptation of Gresham's Law, harsh opinions drive out subtle ones, so I can see how this might work as a tactic. If we relate it to the Labour Party currently which is focussed on its own troubles, then certainly some parts of the MSM are engaged in this sort of approach. It is rather like the warriors sprung from dragon's teeth in Greek mythology, doomed to fight amongst themselves after a stone is thrown into their midst.