We’ve turned pain into profit — and the algorithm is the middleman. From fake death reports to AI-made scandals, Black grief has become a business model, packaged as “content” and sold back to us for engagement. What happened to Judge Faith Jenkins and Kenny Lattimore isn’t gossip — it’s a warning. The internet doesn’t just tell stories anymore. It harvests souls for clicks.

When marketed as an unscripted mirror of our lives, reality television  often fails to deliver that promise. Behind the glossy edits and...