@Discountgothamknight Mastodon.social by default shows you popular posts, sort of, and lots of Mastodon instances are basically a lefty echo chamber so this is what you get.

You can go here instead just to see the latest posts: https://mastodon.social/public/local

Or you can start following a bunch of people that you *are* interested in, and then just read those posts. lots of options! good luck!