Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea of the above passage?

Correct Option: (b) Social media are not ideal or moral institutions but the products built by companies to make profits.

The passage discusses how internet platforms allow anonymous, wealthy entities to buy a louder voice, thereby distorting political discourse and lowering the quality of politics. It highlights that social media algorithms are designed to prioritize user engagement and promote highly inflammatory content to maximize profit, rather than fostering constructive or ethical dialogue. This demonstrates that social media networks are not built as moral or ideal public service institutions, but as commercial products engineered by corporations to generate financial profits. Options (a), (c), and (d) portray social media in a highly positive, democratic, or inevitable light, which directly contradicts the critical tone and evidence presented in the passage. Therefore, statement (b) best reflects the central idea of the passage.