And the layer is this: not only is propaganda being pumped to us via hostile actors, it’s being delivered via a system PURPOSELY DESIGNED to make us addicted to consuming it.
I’ll say it again: we’re being fed propaganda, and being manipulated into being addicted to consuming the propaganda, sharing the propaganda, + engaging with the propaganda. We’re being manipulated into sewing that propaganda into the fabric of our society + our personal lives.
If you’re wondering how in the hell ideas that are complete departures from reality and fact now have a grip on our country - and the world - this is why. 👆
Think of how long ago this was, and consider that AI power grows exponentially. zdnet.com/article/google…
If an IBM machine from 1997 could beat the world chess champion, why would we think an average person can somehow beat a giant underground bunker full of supercomputers - super computers learning from millions of points of data from billions of people, every second of every day?
And regarding the insanity we’ve been seeing in various parts of the country: don’t participate. Just...don't participate.
People who wish us harm know exactly how far it can go.
As we learned at Sunday school, Jesus also paid a porn star hush money to cover up the affair he had while his wife was pregnant, and had his mobbed-up lawyer cover up the payment. Yes, Jesus (Jesus!) was notorious for his Russian-doll, mob-boss cover-ups.
On Sunday, I will reflect on how Jesus was caught on tape laughing about grabbing women by the pussy, and how Jesus rode a golden escalator and told us how much he disliked certain immigrants.
I will awake early and think about how Jesus said, “I have the right to take things!”
Today’s a great day to remember that Trump’s casinos got caught money laundering not once, but twice. Also, when his helicopter pilot was caught running drugs, Trump personally vouched for him and set him up with an apartment.
Hey, while we’re here, also worth remembering that Trump was excluded from bidding on a casino in Australia due to his mafia connections.
I don't know if I find it funny, but I do wonder if all the MAGA small business owners are willing to implode themselves for Trump. You can't run a business without a bank account.
And for those who aren't business owners, it's difficult to pay rent, mortgage, utilities, or the credit payments for their flags + trucks without a bank account. Are they going to spend a few days a week going from place to place to pay all their bills with cash?
Are they giving up vacations for the foreseeable future? Hard to book flights or hotels using cash.
"We're holding your digital security hostage until you give us 8 bucks" seems like a really winning business and PR plan.
Twitter has become the bargain airline of social platforms. "Oh - did you want to arrive at your final destination? HAHAHAHA! That'll be another $1000."
Now, if Twitter had treated people well, not squished us up against racists, misogynists and other nasty people for months, not torpedoed the whole verification system, etc. ETC., I would maybe consider forking over cash. But this ain't it.
In more than one case, I’ve seen younger, influential, entrepreneurs - usually within some sort of highly niche space - create marketing plans around proactively leaving social media completely out of the equation, while encouraging others to do the same.
The reason: they discovered the hard way what happens when an entire business plan is centered around a single social media platform.