The same applies to Trump's approach to Venezuela, China, tariffs, and more. Read the full argument at Infinite Scroll:
www.infinitescroll.us/p/we-are-rul...
Trump's approach to geopolitics uses essentially the same logic as the Underpants Gnomes:
Step one: Bomb Iran
Step two: ????
Step three: The region is peaceful and democratic
I'm back in The Dispatch today, arguing that progressive institutions have leaned so hard into inclusivity they've actually started excluding people, and are so afraid of being mean they harm more people than they help.
It's a shame it cuts off in 2022, would love to see more recent data. TikTok is likely #1 by now, but by how much?
One of the most interesting ways to see the true 'center' of social media was this graph of meme origins from KnowYourMeme.
YouTube + 4chan dominated early internet culture, Tumblr had a few influential years, then Twitter was the center of everything until the rise of TikTok.
The rise of looksmaxxing memes and drama is effectively social media creating a decentralized, distributed form of soap opera/pro wrestling.
How do we build meaning in a world where AI does most of our thinking for us? Are we going to become the parrots?
They're coming up with new and advanced forms of NIMBYism in Europe you couldn't even imagine
Clavicular gives us a through-the-looking-glass performance of attractiveness while actually being deeply unsettling, and the MAGA movement gives a performance of toughness without actually being tough.
It's why ICE agents were instructed to make more videos of arrests. It's why Pete Hegseth is obsessed with calling it the Department of War instead of the Department of Defense. It's not a coincidence when that same department posts in incel slang about "Low cortisol. Locked in. Lethalitymaxxing".
Clavicular isn't actually trying to appeal to women, even though he's straight and obsessed with appearance. Instead he appeals to a very odd subculture of incel-adjacent young men. And MAGA isn't trying to maximize deportations, they're trying to maximize 'look tough on immigration on social media'
Both focus on a superficial kind of appearance. Both end up repelling normal people because they're bizarre. And both end up pursuing strange side-goals unrelated to what they supposedly represent.
Feels like there are symbolic links between Clavicular, who is a facially attractive 'looksmaxxer' but is so awkward and devoid of personality that he repulses most people, and modern right wing politics, which cares about creatin spectacle on social media rather than actually accomplishing anything
This from @jeremiahdjohns.bsky.social is correct. The End of History is a great book.
Why is the Department of War posting Clavicular memes? Why did Will Stancil get punched? And what does it have to do with the increasingly strong filter bubbles we're trapped in?
www.infinitescroll.us/p/the-jester...
Mr Beast lined up one person from each age 1-100 and had them race to a finish line, and the overhead camera is an oddly beautiful data visualization of speed by age.
Is YouTube redistributing views from top YouTubers to less popular ones? Is Khaby Lame's 9-figure brand deal a scam? It's the Weekly Scroll:
www.infinitescroll.us/p/weekly-scr...
Why is ICE focused so heavily on Minnesota - which is not a hotbed of illegal immigrants?
Because the people in charge were, above all else, obsessed with creating content. And that attitude starts with the White House.
Thanks for the dispatch this week, @jeremiahdjohns.bsky.social
Standing on business, CNL has the best podcast host hands down!! 😤
thedispatch.com/article/rene...
Wondering what insane things are happening over on the other site?
Go vote on the worst tweets from 2025!
x.com/JeremiahDJoh...
It's almost that time of year...
Vote on which tweets will make the final bracket in the Worst Tweets of 2025 competition:
www.infinitescroll.us/p/worst-twee...
A surprising bit of advice for parents: You should actually give your kids a tablet as young as 3-4 years old.
www.infinitescroll.us/p/how-to-tea...
Last week I read The Sirens' Call from @chrislhayes.bsky.social. It made me think about the relationships between social media platforms, attention, and choice, and how much of our lives we unconsciously surrender to algorithms.
The line between being an influencer and a journalist has never been thinner.
Are we all suffering for it?
