Originally published at: What It’s Like to Watch An Internet-Based Ideology Break Containment - TPM – Talking Points Memo
I first realized the extent of the internet’s takeover of U.S. politics while standing in the lobby of a drab hotel convention center, listening to an elderly gentleman rattle off a list of fringe conspiracy forums he frequented. “Prison Planet,” he told me, and “Infowars.” “Wow,” I said. In the conference room behind us, a…
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This was a notable article, and particularly this line: But the internet is an apex predator of human attention.
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Mrschjim makes the same comment to me daily in rather personally vexed language:-)
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AGREE 100%. And combined with the advances that have been made in marketing science this has created the perfect storm to cloud, and even corrupt the minds of the gullible.
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The point has real practical consequences. I will not detail my entire correspondence that I sent my Democratic congressional representatives (it was what they should do in negotiating on the shutdown), but in that I wrote this:
And, what does that mean for Democrats in this time? As someone with very modest but some experience in sales and marketing, let me inform you that we live in an attention economy. The worst thing that Democrats could do is not to exist.
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Agree. If Democrats want to be with the people, the internet is where we are for better or worse. Not the only venue; but a crucial one.
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What happens at the edge of this “flat earth”?
Do we inhabit one side only? If so what is on the other side? Has anyone been there?
How is it that astronauts have orbited a flat earth?
These are questions that leap to mind.
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Not to mention, where exactly is the center of gravity?
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It isn’t really a matter of belief, as much as positioning oneself as unwilling to follow “experts.” They will happily use actual non-medbed medicine or rely on GPS to get somewhere, and still go back to the comfort of their fringe community, supporting the RFK Jr. type “truth-tellers.”
This is the dumbest timeline, and it seems like it is getting dumber by the day.
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Everyone wants to be special somehow. Some people are special by insisting they know better. It doesn’t matter whether they do or not, it’s what they want.
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There are plenty of whopper lies out there for the willingly gullible to absorb. Somer have businesses built around them, others. religions. The combo-pack is called GOP politics.
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just outside of Dubuque, oddly enough
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ETA: Pardon the off topic-ness of the post that follows.
Let me see if I get this: Canadians can’t spend $ millions to buy an ad quoting Ronald Reagan on US television without engaging in hostile psychological manipulation, but our regime can spend $ billions to do this?
(@emptywheel.bsky.social on Bluesky )
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Australia - DUH!
Look, we have our own set of stars in the sky, the sun shines below us, clearly not the same side of the disk…
How is it that astronauts have orbited a flat earth?
Clearly faked. There was an excellent documentary - “Capricorn One” - produced a few years ago showing how they faked it all…
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/s ← here it is.. 
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Affirmation conformation in full force.
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Normal people, within a standard deviation or so
More than two, I’d say.
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No, it’s definitely outside Albuquerque. I’ve seen the evidence that proves it!
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That’s magnetic CoG.
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Oh, you’re one of those. You believe magnets are real… 
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Birds aren’t real ya knows…/s
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