#and have them shill your propaganda for you

[charyou-tree]

More than 150 fake local news websites pushing Russian propaganda to U.S. audiences are connected to John Mark Dougan, an American former law enforcement officer living in Moscow, according to a research report published Wednesday by NewsGuard, a firm that monitors misinformation. The websites, with names like DC Weekly, New York News Daily and Boston Times, look similar to those of legitimate local news outlets and have already succeeded in spreading a number of false stories surrounding the war in Ukraine. Experts warn they could be used to launder disinformation about the 2024 election. In an interview over WhatsApp, Dougan denied involvement with the websites. “Never heard of them,” he said. Dougan, a former Marine and police officer, fled his home in Florida in 2016 to evade criminal charges related to a massive doxxing campaign he was accused of launching against public officials and was given asylum by the Russian government.

The disinformation campaigns are out in force, stay aware.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

General Mills and cheaply bought "dietitians" co-opted the anti-diet movement

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in NEXT THURSDAY (Apr 11) in BOSTON with Randall "XKCD" Munroehttps://cockeyed.com/lessons/viagra/viagra.html, then PROVIDENCE, RI (Apr 12), and beyond!

Steve Bannon isn't wrong: for his brand of nihilistic politics to win, all he has to do is "flood the zone with shit," demoralizing people to the point where they no longer even try to learn the truth.

This is really just a more refined, more potent version of the tactical doubt sown by Big Tobacco about whether smoking caused cancer, a playbook later adopted by the fossil fuel industry to sell climate denial. You know Darrell Huff's 1954 classic How To Lie With Statistics? Huff was a Big Tobacco shill (his next book, which wasn't ever published, was How To Lie With Cancer Statistics). His mission wasn't to help you spot statistical malpractice – an actual thing that is an actual problem that you should actually learn to spot. It was to turn you into a nihilist who didn't believe anything could be known:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/01/04/how-to-truth/#harford

Corporations don't need you to believe that their products are beneficial or even non-harmful. They just need you to believe nothing. If you don't know what's true, then why not just do whatever feels good, man? #YOLO!

These bannonfloods of shit are a favored tactic of strongmen and dictators. Their grip on power doesn't depend on their citizens trusting them – it's enough that they trust no one:

http://jonathanstray.com/networked-propaganda-and-counter-propaganda

Bannonflooding is especially beloved of the food industry. Food is essential, monopolized, and incredibly complicated, and many of the most profitable strategies for growing, processing and preparing food are very bad for the people who eat that food. Rather than sacrificing profits, the food industry floods the zone with shit, making it impossible to know what's true, in hopes that we will just eat whatever they're serving:

https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2003460

Now, the "nothing can be known" gambit only works if it's really hard to get at the truth. So it helps that nutrition and diet are very complex subjects, but it helps even more that the nutrition and diet industry are a cesspool of quacks and junk science. This is a "scientific discipline" whose prestigious annual meetings are sponsored (and catered) by McDonald's:

https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/05/my-trip-mcdonalds-sponsored-nutritionist-convention/

It's a "science" whose most prominent pitchmen peddle quack nostrums and sue the critics who point out (correctly) that eating foods high in chlorophyll will not "oxygenate your blood" (hint, chlorophyll only makes oxygen in the presence of light, which is notably lacking in your colon):

https://www.badscience.net/2007/02/ms-gillian-mckeith-banned-from-calling-herself-a-doctor/

When the quack-heavy world of nutrition combines with the socially stigmatized world of weight-loss, you get a zone ripe for shitflooding. The majority of Americans are "overweight" (according to a definition that relies on the unscientific idea of BMI) and nearly half of Americans are "obese." These numbers have been climbing steadily since the 1970s, and every diet turns out to be basically bullshit:

https://headgum.com/factually-with-adam-conover/what-does-ozepmic-actually-do-with-dr-dhruv-khullar

Notwithstanding the new blockbuster post-Ozempic drugs, we're been through an unbroken 50-year run of more and more of us being fatter and fatter, even as fat stigma increased. Fat people are treated as weak-willed and fundamentally unhealthy, while the most prominent health-risks of being fat are roundly neglected: the mental health effects of being shamed, and the physical risks of having doctors ignore your health complaints, no matter how serious they sound, and blame them on your weight:

https://maintenancephase.buzzsprout.com/1411126/11968083-glorifying-obesity-and-other-myths-about-fat-people

Fat people and their allies have banded together to address these real, urgent harms. The "body acceptance" movement isn't merely about feeling good in your own skin: it's also about fighting discrimination, demanding medical care (beyond "lose some weight") and warning people away from getting on the diet treadmill, which can lead to dangerous eating disorders and permanent weight gain:

https://www.beacon.org/You-Just-Need-to-Lose-Weight-P1853.aspx

Fat stigma is real. The mental health risks of fat-shaming are real. Eating disorders are real. Discrimination against fat people is real. The fact that these things are real doesn't mean that the food industry can't flood the zone with shit, though. On the contrary: the urgency of these issues, combined with the poor regulation of dietitians, makes the "what should you eat" zone perfect for flooding with endless quantities of highly profitable shit.

Perhaps you've gotten some of this shit on you. Have you found yourself watching a video from a dietitian influencer like Cara Harbstreet, Colleen Christensen or Lauren Smith, promoting "health at any size" with hashtags like #DerailTheShame and #AntiDiet? These were paid campaigns sponsored by General Mills, Pepsi, and other multinational, multibillion-dollar corporations.

Writing for The Examination, Sasha Chavkin, Anjali Tsui, Caitlin Gilbert and Anahad O'Connor describe the way that some of the world's largest and most profitable corporations have hijacked a movement where fat people and their allies fight stigma and shame and used it to peddle the lie that their heavily processed, high-calorie food is good for you:

https://www.theexamination.org/articles/as-obesity-rises-big-food-and-dietitians-push-anti-diet-advice

It's a surreal tale. They describe a speech by Amy Cohn, General Mills’ senior manager for nutrition, to an audience at a dietitian's conference, where Cohn "denounced the media for 'pointing the finger at processed foods' and making consumers feel ashamed of their choices." This is some next-level nihilism: rather than railing against the harmful stigma against fat people, Cohn wants us to fight the stigma against Cocoa Puffs.

This message isn't confined to industry conferences. Dietitians with large Tiktok followings like Cara Harbstreet then carry the message out to the public. In Harbstreet's video promoting Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs and Trix, she says, "I will always advocate for fearlessly nourishing meals, including cereal…Because everyone deserves to enjoy food without judgment, especially kids":

https://www.tiktok.com/@streetsmart.rd/video/7298403730989436206

Dietitians, nutritionists and the food industry have always had an uncomfortably close relationship, but the industry's shitflooding kicked into high gear when the FDA proposed rules limiting which foods the industry can promote as "healthy." General Mills, Kelloggs and Post have threatened a First Amendment suit against such a regulation, arguing that they have a free speech right to describe manifestly unhealthy food as "healthy."

The anti-diet movement – again, a legitimate movement aimed at fighting the dangerous junk science behind dieting – has been co-opted by the food industry, who are paying dietitian influencers to say things like "all foods have value" while brandishing packages of Twix and Reese's. In their Examination article, the authors profile people who struggled with their weight, then, after encountering the food industry's paid disinformation, believed that "healthy at any size" meant that it would be unhealthy to avoid highly processed, high calorie food. These people gained large amounts of weight, and found their lives constrained and their health severely compromised.

I've been overweight all my life. I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting when I was 12. I come from a family of overweight people with the chronic illnesses often associated with being fat. This is a subject that's always on my mind. I even wrote a whole novel about the promise and peril of a weight-loss miracle:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781429969284/makers

I think the anti-diet movement, and its associated ideas like body acceptance and healthy at every size, are enormously positive developments and hugely important. It's because I value these ideas that I'm so disgusted with Big Food and its cynical decision to flood the zone with shit. It's also why I'm so furious with dietitians and nutritionists for failing to self-regulate and become a real profession, the kind that censures and denounces quacks and shills.

I have complicated feelings about Ozempic and its successors, but even if these prove to be effective and safe in the long term, and even if we rein in the rapacious pharma companies so that they no longer sell a $5 product for $1000, I would still want dietary science to clean up its act:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2816824

I'm not a nihilist. I think we can use science to discover truths – about ourselves and our world. I want to know those truths, and I think they can be known. The only people who benefit from convincing you that the truth is unknowable are the people who want to lie to you.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/05/corrupt-for-cocoa-puffs/#flood-the-zone-with-shit

[notaplaceofhonour]

it’s october 7th. you hear about the attack by seeing people you followed glorifying the terrorist attack—a massacre, a pogrom—as victory & justified resistance, glorifying a terrorist group that was founded with the explicit intent to kill your entire people

you make a post in which you make it clear you support palestinians and oppose the ways israel has wronged them, explaining that the terrorist group is still not good. you know you will probably get some flacc from the pro-Hamas side, but naively underestimate how much.

you get thousands of notifications on that one post, the majority of them hateful comments.

some of the response is positive. multiple messages thank you for the post, expressing bafflement that it’s controversial.

a few Israelis are upset at the loaded language in your post, but explain their problems with it civilly. you called Israel “apartheid”. they ask you what apartheid laws Israel has. you admit you honestly don’t know.

your inbox is flooded with anonymous hate from anti-Israel leftists.

over the course of a few weeks you have received hundreds of death threats, a dozen rape threats. people accuse you of being pro-genocide. you’re a literal Nazi. you’re racist, you thirst for the blood of Palestinians. you’re brainwashed by propaganda, a shill for The Zionist Entity. a few of the hate messages are from literal Neo-Nazis; the overwhelming majority are from leftists, many of them queer.

you are considering suicide.

you see footage of the october 7th attacks. you see footage of the bombings in gaza. you see footage of a Jewish man being murdered at an anti-Israel rally.

a popular creator you follow posts in support of an antisemitic hate group that masquerades as a Jewish organization. this organization regularly posts blood libel and other antisemitic rhetoric, works with groups that are even more explicitly antisemitic, including celebrating October 7th, holocaust inversion, blood libel, “Khazar theory” and others. more than one of the orgs they work with is pro-Putin.

your former roommate liked the post.

graffiti appears on a street you frequent that says “#freepalestine” and “end settler colonialism”

the boyfriend of the friend you spent most of the summer with makes his first post about the war. it’s a reposted comic that mocks and downplays the october 7th attack.

you doubt he’ll be receptive to criticism. he’s shared leftist memes about “monied elites” pulling all the strings and evangelicals being modern day “pharisees” in the past, and getting him to understand why that was antisemitic was like herding cats. you try anyway.

another of his Jewish friends also pushes back. he smugly dismisses her, tells her she’s falling for Zionist propaganda and uses several antisemitic tropes. you go off on him. he just deletes your comment.

you give up. you’re done. you block him.

you see anti-Israel posters and billboards around town

you mention what happened with the guy you went off on to his girlfriend—the friend you’ve grown very close to, who you’ve been listening to as she unburdens her fears for the future and complains about her bf’s BS over the last year. she doesn’t respond to you.

a friend of a friend shares posts tokenizing fringe groups that spread blood libel and have collaborated with holocaust deniers. you know they don’t know what you know, so you explain what those groups are. they seem somewhat receptive, apologize, and take it down

the next day they share several more posts that dip into antisemitic tropes. you mention this to your mutual friend, that you’re worried about them being radicalized. you’re not sure how receptive they’ll be to continued criticism

you have a confrontation with the foaf. in the meantime they’ve shared even more antisemitic posts. they say they didn’t mean to cause you distress but instead of stopping they effectively block you.

the “end settler colonialism” vandalism has been counter-vandalized with the words “commie propaganda” in place of “settler colonialism”. you don’t know if this is an improvement.

a month passes. the friend whose bf you went off on still hasn’t spoken to you. you see she shared a post defending an SJP chapter that posted Nazi cartoon caricatures of Jews repurposed in “Anti-Zionist” memes. you unfriend her on all social media platforms but you can’t bring yourself to block her number.

you see a friend of someone whose couch you surfed when you were homeless harassing Jewish celebrities with “Free Palestine” comments. you block them.

you’ve lost count of how many people you’ve unfollowed or blocked, or who’ve blocked you. friends, content creators.

when a friend takes an unusually long time to respond you worry if it’s because of your posts about antisemitism.

most of the podcasts, youtube channels, and other content creators you regularly engaged with no longer feel safe. you wonder who will be next

a couple friends wish you a happy hanukkah. you don’t celebrate much aside from lighting the hanukkiah and making some latkes.

you see posts about a destroyed chabad menorah, antisemitic comments on Jewish celebrities’ Hanukkah posts.

your neighborhood is covered in pro-Palestine & anti-Israel posters. some are seemingly innocuous, some are JVP “not in our name” posters. some call for intifada. “globalize the intifada” “Zionists fuck off!” “solidarity means attack!”

a man kills himself shouting “free palestine”. you learn about his suicide by seeing posts from several popular accounts you followed glorifying it.

you follow a bunch of jewish accounts on social media and commiserate with them about everything happening

your jewish friends post screenshots of the dead man’s antisemitic, pro-Hamas views. you look at his reddit and find even more horrific shit: anti-Ukraine posts. mocking Zelensky. “elites” are “lizard people”; the only named individual he calls a lizard person is Jewish. you start to notice a pattern: a lot of the people he dislikes just so happen to be jews.

several people you know share a post glorifying this man’s suicide. most are acquaintances, one is someone incredibly important to you.

you wonder how they would respond to your suicide.

you tell the close friend that shared this post how it scares you. you show them the receipts of the man’s antisemitism. their response is a single sentence. they didn’t know about the antisemitism.

they don’t apologize.

you notice none of your irl friends, even your closest ones, interact with your posts about antisemitism. you are able to vent to a couple friends, but no one has reach out to you

you try not to read into it. you try not to take it personally.

you haven’t slept well in months. you’ve always been an insomniac but not like this. you’re not sleeping until 4am, 6am, even 9am. even when you get to bed at a decent hour and get a full night’s rest it takes you hours to get out of bed.

a few weeks go by. the friend with the single sentence response shares a post saying they’re excited and proud to join a group to help palestinians. you’re excited and proud for them.

a couple days later, they share a post about a fundraiser to help a palestinian family get out of gaza. you note to yourself this is a much more effective & less concerning form of activism than the pro-suicidal antisemite post.

your friend shares another post about the fundraiser. it’s a joint post between their group and another group.

you open the other group’s page

the page is just a wall of signs from rallies. you swipe through one after another: “from the river to the sea”, “by any means necessary”, justifying/denying the atrocities of october 7th, calling for violent revolution. anything done in the name of resistance can’t be terrorism, all Israelis are terrorists. Jews aren’t indigenous; they’re white colonizers. holocaust inversion. other vile, thinly veiled violent rhetoric

you feel sick to your stomach imagining talking to your friend about it.

you already feel like you’re burdening the few friends you can talk to about this. you already feel like you think about it too much, talk about it too much. but you can’t not think about it; it affects every aspect of your life.

you’ve filtered out relevant keywords on more than one social media site to avoid the worst of it. some still manages to leak through.

there isn’t a single friend you regularly interact with that you don’t fear the moment when they will switch from listening to your concerns to seeing you as the evil zionist or indoctrinated hasbaranik they’ve been warned about.

it’s not an irrational fear. it keeps happening. you knew it would then, and you were powerless to do anything about it before, and you continue to be as it happens again and again.

you don’t know what to do about any of it.

[cl0ckworkpuppet]

time for my monthly mp3 player propaganda post!

yall. don't fucking stream music off of youtube or spotify. they pay their creators shit. the most generous estimate i could find was artists being paid $1 for every 200 streams (0.5¢ per stream), and unless you're listening to songs on an album thousands times in total, it helps tremendously more to just. buy their albums or subscribe to a patreon-like service for them

mp3 players are laughably inexpensive (you can get a decent one with bluetooth for like $40-50 and you can get away with even less if you forego some features), many of them are drag-and-drop, no ads, decent enough sound quality for the average person, unlimited skips, track selection, regular play and shuffle, playlists, being able to shut off your screen, and more importantly, ALL OF THIS IS AVAILABLE WITHOUT A SUBSCRIPTION. i've always been an avid hater of subscription models. there are some things where it's understandable, but you shouldn't lose access to basic QOL features just because you can't or won't fork over $10-15 a month.

"b-b-but $50 is so expensive!" WRONG. $50 (which is more than i've EVER spend on a single mp3 player) is the equivalent to 5 months on spotify premium without discounts. if you can afford that, it's worth investing into a device that can last you literal years if you get a good one and take good care of it

"but i don't wanna carry around another device!" fair enough, but these things are small enough to fit in tiny pockets (mine fits snugly in the watch pocket of my jeans) and are typically light enough to not be burdensome. if you can carry around your phone, you can carry around an mp3 player

"what if people think i'm weird for having outdated technology" let them. it's worth it in my opinion if it means i get to listen to music ad-free. the most I've ever gotten was "wooooah bro's got the dinosaur tech" and i just thought that was funny personally

"but what if the artist collapses without a constant stream of money!!! i'm not supporting the artist!!!!!" companies try to pay as little as they can get away with to artists. most of that money goes to the CEO and other higher-ups.

"but piracy is bad!" Piracy is a Crime. However, downloading youtube videos/audio for your own PERSONAL, NON-COMMERCIAL USE and NOT REDISTRIBUTING THEM is legal (generally, in the US, check your laws, i am not a lawyer, not legal advice, blah blah blah). besides, i never said you had to pirate your music. in fact, i encourage you to buy the albums of and support your favourite artists in other ways. some artists might even provide links for people to download their songs for free in high quality anyway

not gonna link products just in case someone thinks i'm a shill. but literally just look up "mp3 player" on your search engine or shopping site of choice and find something that doesn't look like it'll fall apart if you breathe on it too hard

seriously guys. if you listen to music more than like a few hours a week, and you don't get all of your music from livestreams or radios (although mine can connect to AM/FM radio), consider investing in an mp3 player. i tried out using one regularly in fall of 2021, and I haven't looked back. don't let companies drain subscription money from you

[kittlesandbugs]

You cannot break something like FHR down into purely good vs evil. That is literally the point of the book. Things are not what they seem, everything and everyone is shades of grey, and you have to scratch beyond the surface to see what's really going on. The heroes fight for a government that funds the creation of slaves, definding the existing hypercapitalist status quo. The villains are, yes, sometimes people who hurt others for funsies, but mostly people who have bucked that status quo and fight the system.

Are you really going to blanket this as heroes good and villains bad? Congrats, you're a shill for the state, and you drank the propaganda kool aid.

The reader only knows what the narrator gives them, and the narrator is not unbiased. The reader has to dig into what's between the lines and roiling under the surface to glean a better picture of what's really going on.

Even the stats are not as straightforward as they appear. Daring vs Caution is a willingness to take big risks vs protecting oneself and one's assets. Empathy vs Ruthlessness is a desire to take consideration of others vs a willingness to do what needs to be done to advance goals. Arrogance vs Anonymity is a willingness to put yourself out there and take credit for your actions vs a desire to stay unseen and work in the shadows.

None of these traits are inherently good and evil. They tell us about the character, allow us to extrapolate somethings, but they are tools in a box, and it's how you use the tools that defines good and evil. You can max ruthlessness without ever killing. You can max empathy because it better allows you to understand and manipulate others. The stats themselves are tools, and the colors are visual tools to represent something that really is far more complex than a two color system allows.

[roomba-mangga]

for that ask game: 8, 17, 31 & 43 for thistle dungeon meshi ?

8. Unpopular opinion about them

Not sure I can gauge (un)popularity unless it's an extreme example so I guess *skull emoji* the age discourse? Less an opinion and more a personal interpretation of the immortal child archetype, tbh. It's a really interesting concept, super fun to try and strike that balance between ancient and tragically young, and presenting that situation through a high fantasy framework really works to emphasize and demonstrate the nuances of a split child/adult mentality, especially wrt trauma (not to mention fraught family dynamics and neurodivergence).

The tricky bit is that balancing act where you want to avoid adultifying or infantilizing the character within a narrative, which... I think with that whole age debate, people tend to lean into one or the other pitfall, and justifiably so since it's such a tightrope act. Thistle's sense of purpose and security hinges on being a guardian to people who are simultaneously much older and younger than him—essentially being expected to mature at the same rate as everyone else when that isn't physically possible, which was bad enough when Marcille was just observing aging disparity between herself and others, let alone what happened with Thistle. Neurodivergent trauma metaphor I love you.

So he's effectively been playing the role of adult guardian for so long that trying to remove that from his dynamics with others would imbalance him, while at the same time that very imposition of responsibilities is the root of trauma in the first place. It's all very complicated! Whoever cares for him post-canon needs to find a middle ground between those two states, which means any dynamic where he's involved would have a fair amount of role-fuckery going on where he's neither their kid nor their peer, but somehow both at once. And also an ageless entity of indeterminate gender. I shill for Young Old Guy Thistle.

17. Quotes, songs, poems etc. that I associate with them

Brick By Boring Brick (Paramore)

Icarus (The Crane Wives)

Age of Kings (The Mountain Goats)

Bring Her Back (Dirt Poor Robins)

Do You Want to Die Together? (Stars)

Little Soldiers (The Crane Wives)

Honorable mention that I wouldn't actually include in a playlist because he's too aggro, but it's about the principle of the thing: Strawberry Blond (Mitski)

If I had to pick songs for other dynamics besides Thistle & Delgal then...

Thistle & Falin: Community Gardens (The Scary Jokes)

Thistle & Laios: Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair (Arctic Monkeys)

Thistle & Yaad: Paper Dolls (Dirt Poor Robins)

31. If they had a tumblr what would it look like?

So there are two separate blogs with severely contrasting vibes and the first one is just a polished site dedicated to the Kingdom's state of affairs and unabashed monarchy propaganda, the crest of Melini is the banner, it has local news and dungeon updates like whatever batch of adventurers have been crushed to paste that day. The other one is his secret vent blog that's mostly pages and pages of poetry (a lot his own) and the occasional meltdown in unreadable cursive font that romanticizes his inner turmoil. Banner would be an exquisite oil painting depicting a king and his page. Reading back I think I'm implying that Thistle randomly has a Tumblr in the high fantasy universe, which is devastatingly funny to me.

43. 3 favorite foods and 3 they despise

He doesn't eat </3

Substitute answer my knowledge of medieval European/Mediterranean food starts and ends at cheese bread and fruit but, placing my bets that his preferences mirror Delgal's—adjusted to be appropriate to his station—because of course they do. He canonically is apathetic towards elven food (who isn't?) given his resentment towards his own race for abandoning him. I like to think that post-canon there's at least one kind of elven food from some loosely SEA-inspired subcontinent that grows on him so he finally has a positive connection to his homeland (... it'll be Filipino or Indian food. Not sure what specifically yet but mark my words)

[danganronpa-ship-tourney]

Updated Rules For The Rare Pair/Scarce Ship Bracket!

You WILL be civil to the shippers of the ship you think is worse, no I do not CARE if it's abuse or the most problematic thing in the world, this is for people to have a chance to shill for ships you may immediately have a negative response to, because sometimes there is a good story if you can push past that innate flinch!

I shouldn't have to specify but be like, actually decent about what you say, theres a difference between edge and potentially being intensely triggering and uncomfortable for literally no reason.

Do not actively put down ships, lift up the ship you think is more interesting, these ships already have a very limited community, they don't need to be punched down on! Even if you think its the cringiest thing in the world, don't be malicious! You can be confused or unsure but no bullying!

I can't enforce this but the tag you want to use for anything you create for this should be "#Scarce Ship" this is so people can filter it out more easily. I'm here to cause fun, not make people frustrated because their tag got overrun.

The point of the bracket is to find a new ship you may never have thought of before and spread support to these rarepairs, so propaganda is EXTRA ENCOURAGED! While we will only have one winner at the end, do NOT be mean about it or talk bad about a ship you don't understand. The whole point of this is to bring light to ships that may have never crossed your mind before and enjoy them after all!

I am also a single person, while I have a friend who is here on the sidelines cheering me on and worried about my mental health, I hand made the bracket and everything else about this. If the brackets aren't perfectly balanced or a ship you like didn't make the cut, remember that I am just a single person.

Voter fraud is allowed and encouraged I'm not a coward this is the voting fraud website if you're determined to make a thousand sock puppet accounts just to make sure HPA Gjinka x Junko is the winner then that's the biggest possible powermove and I respect it.

Thank you for all the support I've gotten! While rather small scale compared to other polls, the fact I've got people sending asks and following means a lot to me. Even if I barely get any interaction from here out, I still had fun and am happy to have done this.

[kendrixtermina]

I encourage everyone to take a look at that one zionist propaganda plaxbook

look at it - this is what they think of you.

Some of it is kinda dated-ish & more specific to 2009 but some of these talking points are still being parrotted by zionist trolls on this very website as well as bought-off politicians.

Highlights include:

Admitting they're saying what they're saying because it polled well in focus groups (ie. not because its true... indeed when you know the reality, it's very infuriating to read. For example, this is the reality for arab-israelis) And no one will believe this depiction of Palestine as a totalitarian cross between ISIS & North Korea after seeing all these videos of all the women doctors & normal instagrammers they have there....

"We know we don't actually want a 2 state solution, but we need to pretend to in order to fool those stupid peace-loving westerners." (obviously not in those words but... that's what they're saying.)

"The side that says peace most wins... so lets blame them for all the war"

"This might be difficult to sell to Americans because it sounds too much like Jim Crow"(!!!)

"Your best allies will be white males. Women, blacks & poor americans disagree with us because they know nothing about the middle east, we must "educate" them" - Yep, according to the israel lobby, women & blacks support Palestine cause they're dumb. * facepalm* Two pages after using the women's rights canard to shill Israel, too...

The biggest threats are "educated young people who are good at smelling propaganda", and "rational, well-informed & calm" Palestinian Activists. It says a lot about Zionism that it considers Education & Rationality its greatest enemy. No one ever became MORE zionist from education & active thinking. They also complain that Jewish uni students don't really identify with israel even though they experience rising antisemitism. That tells you all you need to know. Having a rogue fasho state claiming to be acting in the name of jews doesn't protect anyone from antisemitism... It looks more like Israel & the fash right are partners, like Hitler & Mussolini swapping German- & Italian-Speakers from each side of their borders (after the annexation of austria) so each can have a "purer" ethnostate.

[tobiasdrake]

Alright. Jogging down the street, take 3. This time, no distractions. We're gonna sprint from point B to point A, so called because point B is where we begin Plan B and point A is where we begin Plan A.

I know. It's fucking weird. Have you ever tried measuring how probabilistic physics react under the influence of your time rewind? I think the d6 is landing on different values when it falls.

NO DISTRACTIONS!

I mean... unless we wanted to find out our lucky number....

Oh fine, I'll behave. Do you have the stamina for the jog, though?

Well, that's convenient. We might be able to get there right as the body comes down, and have him crash onto the car!

Let's GO!

Yeah, that's about what I thought. Fortunately, we may have saved his life. Hollywood movies have taught me that cars are ultra-soft and landing on one from any height means guaranteed survival.

...the fucking d6 is on the hood in front of his face. It's probably a different value again but this doesn't count as a test of probabilistic physics under time-rewind. We've changed the surrounding circumstances too much. It corrupts the test.

Trying to get his attention but all he cares about is the die. Pretty sure that's a 4, by the way.

Bullshit, that is a four.

It's weird that it's a four. We can see the three facing us, so the four should be facing the opposite direction. All opposing sides of a d6 add to 7. But it is a four facing up. Maybe the one is on the side facing him, rather than the top?

Ha! I knew it! Hollywood physics never fail! I guess you could say it sure was lucky that we found this taxicab, wasn't it?

We have saved a life. ^_^ All in a day's work for Fubuki Clockford, Master Detective.

:D Protective rainclouds and roses. I guess this means we've closed the book on this case. Nothing more to see here!

Oh shit, we actually left. XD Who cares about the finer details like why he fell. Guy lived! Job's done! This was a Lucky Day miracle.

Oh, I'm sure we can trust the corporate shills down at Kanai Ward's finest propaganda machine to report only the truth. No reason to let these good vibes go to waste.

That's because it was counting down to when he'd be saved! The d6 knew his fate.

Hmm... and who do we know that reads fates....

The Fortune Teller! If she's in on it, then she could have given the victim a divining die! Perhaps that's why she was so keen on giving us a lucky number! The lucky number decides how many times you will die before you live.

Or Halara! We already know that they're postcognitive. Who's to say they haven't been keeping a little precognition from us too? Maybe they're having breakfast with us right now to eavesdrop on our findings!

Or Yomi. In all this city, nobody has so much power over fate and destiny as Yomi. He flexes that power every time he has people killed. He shapes people's fates into imprisonment and death as easily as imprisoning or killing them. Perhaps he used his powers to shape this fate as well?

The Count is probably clean. He can only work with numbers that already exist, so I think we can remove him from the list.

But what might have changed is probability. We're going quantum on our lucky day!

Bestie. Bestie. You are rich as fuck, bestie. The cost of Halara's services are pocket change. Bestie. This team-up would be amazing.

Woo-hoo, rich girl gets freebies! Boy, it sure is nice to have upper-class privileges. It's almost like the systems of capital are designed to make things more expensive for the poor or something.

Maybe it's cause Halara thinks I'm swell. :)

Of course, we shouldn't discount the more rational explanation. Halara's offer of pro bono services may be another manifestation of our Lucky Day!

And. Would that. Still be considered a conversation among friends, rather than an official business expenditure? I will offer you this adorable smile and a pair of thumbs ups.

(b˃̵ ᴗ ˂̵)b Let's go, Team... Nightford? Clockmare? Fulara? ...Nightmare... Clock... Alarm clock!

Let's go, Team Alarm Clock, let's go!

...oh, but you're also a suspect so this will let me keep an eye on you. I nearly forgot you were on The List. Finger guns!

Does it say which building? I tried asking around but everyone was too busy gasping in shock.

That's probably where the d6 came from. This involves gambling in some way or another. He was so invested in the outcome of that roll that he was willing to die for it.

What about the roof? Can the windows on the roof be opened?

*nods sagely* Roof windows are unlocked. Check.

What are his gambling habits like? That's going to be the centerpiece of this mystery.

There we go. Now we're on the trail of the d6. Not sure we'll find the d6 at the crime scene now, after all this time. Oh! But Halara can use their Postcognition to return to the crime scene and spot it! I'm so glad we hired invited Halara to tag along as our extra-special luxury friend!

They are so cool, y'all. I don't know why Yuma always looks so miserable every time he finishes a conversation with them!

[most-annoying-sponsorship]

Any submitted propaganda under the cut

BetterHelp - 44

the ads are unilaterally either cheesy 'everyone needs help sometimes pardner' stuff or a therapist who works for betterhelp saying how good betterhelp is. notably was an uptick in ads AFTER it was revealed how bad betterhelp is for actual mental health and how it doesnt vet its therapists lol

It’s overpriced, they underpay their workers, they have fake 5-star reviews and they sell your info. So many big YouTubers still promote Betterhelp to this day when most this info came out in 2018-ish. Fuck Betterhelp, all my homies hate Betterhelp

I guess it’s more of a podcast sponsor in my experience but OH MY GOD it’s such a bad business, but more importantly for this poll I just hate hearing youtubers/podcasters put on a serious voice to talk about Mental Health and how they themselves have struggled with Burnout and blah blah it literally all sounds the same. It’s like a psa in the middle of your video.

not only is it annoying bc it’s everywhere but it also sucks ass & exploits people

not only annoying, but a harmful service as well!!

It's being sued or smth rn (class action I think?). The program has been sketchy af and exploiting people who are experiencing mental illness or trauma, falsely claiming they have a full scale psychiatric team when they don't, selling data, etc. All for profit. Every other sponsorship is annoying, sure. But I instantly lose a little bit of respect when I hear a YouTuber talk about the importance of mental healthcare and then point you to BetterHelp.

The motherfuckers at Betterhelp call it ""'therapy""" but it sells your data. Youtubers I like promote this bastard of a conpany without a care in the world. I don't know why it is legal, I don't know how they get away with it, and I'm going to rip Betterhelp molecule by molecule

Its a scam trying to get your data and they dont even follow HIPPA laws or vet their therapists and they've had so many scandals that I'm shocked they still get sponsors unironically

Doesn’t even work like they’ve had a ton of controversy and the Youtuber is always like “lemme get real with you guys for a second… ok… phew… I go to therapy” and it’s like OKAY WELL YOU SHOULD GIVE A SHIT THAT THE COMPANY SUCKS THEN 💀

Takes advantage of people needing access to mental health care, when in reality BetterHelp is a terrible company that treats therapists AND clients like shit. The FTC recently gave them a huge fine for selling client health data to for-profit advertising corporations like Facebook but they still deny wrongdoing and haven't stopped the shill campaign. At least when a meal kit service or w/e is poor-quality usually all it means is you wasted your money, but if you trust the wrong therapy service there is a lot more that can go horribly wrong. (Cerebral is even worse since it was essentially all the problems of BetterHelp mixed with handing out addictive controlled substances like candy, but I haven't seen it on Youtube as much)

This is the only sponsorship that has actively made me unsubscribe from anyone that advertises it. While others like raycon or squarespace are usually annoying. Betterhelp is actively harmful to both their patients and their therapists, sells personal health data of their users to ad companies and it isn't even cheaper than real therapy at this point like they claim to be. It makes me see red when I see another youtuber saying how "good" it is and how it helped them (which it honestly looks like a script at this point) and telling their usually young audience to sign in. And then they dare to ignore the thousands of comments telling them about how bad betterhelp actually is. Like, I thought we all knew about their shady practices. It has been common knowlege since 2018, why are you acting surprised when you get called out. But I guess they pay really well so I hope those 1000$ were worth it I guess. Sorry for the ramble.

I've never tried it so I can't know for sure, but by all accounts the app is shit, yet everyone talks about it as though it's the best thing ever

There are sooo many controversies with BetterHelp and youtubers stopped accepting (not medically trained professionals, highly unethical and unprofessional and rude etc) sponsorships with them until recently like they all just forgot how shitty it was and it makes me dislike the youtuber every time i see they accept one

A shitty company taking advantage of those struggling with mental health (overcharging, horrible therapists, sharing data with third parties etc.) and yet everyone is sponsored by them

It harms both the therapists and the patients using it and is particularly evil to do that during the current times

Fake therapy and unqualified folks

they literally prey on mentally ill people for their money. their therapists seem extremely unqualified. i have heard so many horror stories including therapists telling (non-religious) clients to pray their problems away, talking about their own problems to the client for the entire session, and sitting on the toilet mid appointment. i genuinely don't understand how otherwise respectable creators can take their sponsorships in good faith because i have ONLY HEARD BAD THINGS

Shit company that abuses their “patients” and takes their money, and youtubers REFUSE to listen to their audiences on this

Not only is it incredibly fucking common and annoying, but it preys on and is advertised to people with mental illness. It apparently isn't very helpful for this (it seems like therapists don't even have to be licensed) but still presents itself as therapy. People have also said it sells your data and isn't confidential at all

It's everywhere and I heard it's actually a little harmful sometimes.

THEY STEAL YOUR INFO??? YOUR DEPRESSION IS LITERALLY BEING MONETIZED FUCK THESE GUYS JUST DO A NORMAL SCAM LIKE ESTABLISHED TITLES INSTEAD OF TAKING ADVANTAGE OF SUICIDAL PEOPLE

It's a legitimately harmful product and it is /everywhere/

It's basically a scam and can cause actual harm!

Evil fucking service, straight up dangerous

Its not even real therapists

IT DOES NOT VET ITS THERAPISTS. I CANNOT EMPHASIZE THIS ENOUGH, BETTERHELP DOES NOT VET ITS THERAPISTS. It also doesn't pay nearly enough.

it's a scam that preys on people trying to get help with their health

Literally sold user data from THERAPY SESSIONS

somehow it doesn't matter how many times there's articles about how better help abuses patients personal data, uses counselors who aren't licensed therapists, does conversion therapy on ppl who ask for lgbt sensitive counseling....ppl STILL take the money and i hate it

It's a scam and people (even some professional therapists have promoted it). "Despite its credible presentation, BetterHelp was caught selling data to Facebook, Snapchat, Criteo, and Pinterest. The company recently settled for $7.8 million. The FTC confirmed that BetterHelp pushed people into handing over health informatio" quote is from this article which sums up the problem pretty well: https://www.themarysue.com/betterhelp-controversy-explained

It turns out they sell user data for advertising purposes which GOES AGAINST WHAT THERAPIST GROUPS ARE SUPPOSED TO DO!!!

always feels really dystopian to get advertisement for scammy corporate mental health services... like what a sign of failure for society if ppl have to rely on such expensive and potentially unprofessional ways of getting the help they need. get that thang away from mee

therapy site with bad therapists on it

It's actually bad morally speaking

AWFUL SERVICE !!! every youtuber who still takes this sponsorship is cringe to me

Jim Beam "People Are Good For You" Ad - 1

I hate this ad. 1st of all, as an autistic person, being in a loud crowded bar would be a sensory nightmare for me. Also I don't like the taste of alcohol. So borboun is probably gross anyways. 2nd, I wouldn't want to go a bar because I would concerned about getting sick. That's because it's flu and cold season where I live, and Covid-19 is around. Lastly, I've seen this ad enough times now that it's annoying. So no Jim Bean, I will not be going a bar or buying your bourban (or anyone else's) anytime soon.

[eddieydewr]

no hate to you and all this celebrities bullshit hating game aside, what is your opinion on what israel has been doing since oct 7? do you think it’s justified? do you think it has been exaggerated by social media? im genuinely curious (hope this doesn’t come off as patronizing because i really am just curious)

thank you for asking without hostility! i already spoke a bit about the IDF in this ask from february but i’ll expand~

i believe israel had no choice but to respond after the 10/7 massacre. i’m not claiming to know the ins and outs of the IDF, whether the massacre was premeditated* (with netanyahu’s knowledge, or if armed response was purposely delayed as to ramp up casualty number, etc), and i don’t know what is the truth or propaganda/fabricated (from both sides). but i do believe since there are hostages in gaza, israel had to act. could’ve they done it differently? absolutely. but at the same time, i don’t trust anything that comes from hamas and their shills. i’m sorry if that offends you but i just don’t. they control everything that goes on in gaza, including journalism and the health ministry. independent and foreign journalists aren’t allowed in gaza. the AP photographers are associated with hamas and terror proxies, and they were complicit in the massacre on 10/7. i don’t trust social media influencers like motaz and bisan.

no doubt you’ll have heard of shani louk. it was an AP photographer who snapped that picture of the poor girl whose lifeless body was laid face down in the back of a pickup truck, with her limbs at unnatural angles; and to add insult to injury, being used as a footrest for those hamas soldiers. not to mention a palestinian man, part of the crowing observers in gaza, who spat on her body, as if she meant nothing. oh, but what about the 30,000 people dead? yeeeeah. like i said, i don’t trust hamas. it’s almost only women and children. no hamas members? there’s an instance where hamas readily had a list of victims with their name, age, and ID number after like 30 minutes of a bombing (i think the one where hamas claimed to be israel’s doing but it was a misfire). this is impossible. especially when at the time, victims of 10/7 were still being searched and identified. by forensics and volunteers. of course there are dead palestinians but i wouldn’t be surprised if the numbers are exaggerated, and the majority of them were hamas.

islamic extremists despise the west but they’ll happily propagandise in exchange for money and support/sympathy, even better if the support includes antisemitism (especially from the left), calls for the dismantlement of israel, and even calls for caliphate in the west 💀 the native americans i follow online are side eyeing the useful idiots. down with the usa in favour of another colonialism? well done.

ok. i need to be balanced. many israelis i know of, as well as jews in the diaspora (which includes brett gelman!), agree that *netanyahu has got to go. he is very right wing, and let’s say… i wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the reason armed response was delayed on 10/7. he probably needed a number to justify such a response against hamas (meaning an attack on gaza where innocents are to suffer, especially due to hamas’ cowardice), and IDF members on duty were likely kept in the dark. he probably doesn’t have good intentions when it comes to gaza or even palestine. i don’t know much about him but i don’t think he’s anything like hitler (which is an offensive comparison to make in the first place; let’s not call jews nazis. unless they actually are but the word has a meaning. maybe white supremacy is more appropriate; which doesn’t rly make sense to me because jews are diverse). and i don’t think he knew or expected 10/7 to happen. i’ll acknowledge that there were warnings but if you know how those things work, you’d understand that not every warning/threat can be investigated (it costs money), plus sometimes it’s just not plausible. israel holds many music festivals and gigs a year, so it’s a case of which one? and well, if you got a warning that hamas soldiers were going to break through the border as well as arriving into israel via paraglides, and start murdering festival goers and civilians in their own homes, maybe grab some hostages and hold them in gaza for reasons (in exchange for thousands of palestinian prisoners in israel, notable prisoners who did bad things)? i’d be baffled, ngl. and like i said, it’d be difficult to investigate such a warning since there are many festivals to come within a year. and paraglides??? but i’m not a war nor terrorism expert. and netanyahu certainly is complicit in some aspects.

i believe the IDF mostly care about bringing hostages home, doing their best to minimise casualty (it is a war, not genocide), and preferring for hamas to surrender. unfortunately they have a shitty leader in netanyahu, not to mention the bad actors in service; like the male soldiers showing off lingerie? not really sure the purpose of that, maybe it’s male degeneracy or they’re somehow delighting in the hypocrisy of radical muslims and their double standards? i just don’t know. but they don’t represent israel or jews (remember, there are muslims in the IDF too).

social media definitely doesn’t help. it’s a useful tool for awareness but it’s also useful for lies, misinformation, and propaganda (both good and bad). and i don’t like how some online spaces are committed to sorting celebs and big names by their stance on the israel-hamas war, because for most of them, it’s blown out of proportion (noah as a notable example). plus it doesn’t achieve anything meaningful. social media definitely contributes to the massive jump in antisemitism and anti-arab/islamophobia. i think what pisses me off the most is the point scoring from trolls on both sides because it is not helpful; people in gaza are not all the better for it, and it makes any potential peace process between palestine and israel even more unrealistic.

i feel i have loads more to say but i think i should stop here. sorry anon 😳 apologies for any typos or if i worded some things badly. i hope you’re not interpreting this reply as my being hostile, because i only want to be upfront with what i know and my opinions, and if i’m ever wrong about something when the war ends and facts come to light, i’ll own it.

[stroebe2]

it's funny to see liberals types on here seething at the global online opinion being that standing against genocide and endless useless war and destruction is right and the only acceptable opinion, so much so that they have to explain it by "tankies taking over online spaces" (hahaha). some of them have even gone as far as "leaving the left"! do you think the next step is realizing they've never been left wing. your lies and propaganda don't work, you're wrong, you're voicing support for ethnic cleansing and genocide, everyone hates you, somehow turning this into a discussion on antisemitism is dishonest at best, you're stupid, etc. everyone is getting radicalized because that's what you do when you're witnessing something as horrible as what's currently happening in Palestine, it's a natural reaction when you actually stand for something - but you wouldn't know that, you're shills of a destructive and hateful ideology you don't even understand.

[mwagneto]

For what it is, I'm Ukrainian, but I have relatives in Lithuania, and they are also worrying that war comes to them too, and from what I've read you are worrying about that too, so I'll tell you what I told them: no, Russia won't be at dirrect war with your country, cause a) Russia is in war with Ukraine since 2014, actually, officially they aren't declaring current war as war either (special operation bullshit, yeah) b) one of the reasons why they aren't declaring war is cause they're cowards and don't want to go in war with nato, thought their propaganda channels would say otherwise to scare of Europe from helping Ukraine and c) I feel like one of the only perks of your country, Hungary, having conservative president is that he's a total shill of Putin and would never be in direct confrontation with Russia, but being a part of NATO makes it impossible for Russia for being in control of your country allegiance either (see point b))

Hopefully that helps. And about water, in like circa 2016 (might be different year, it was a while) I lived for a whole year in Kiiv without running hot water, which wasn't great, but almost half of city was in similar situation so it helps on psychological level somewhat, like we all in this together... Get a big pot, the bigger the better, put it in a bathroom, better elevated so it won't get cold to quickly, boil smaller pots of water and drain them into Big Pot™ scoop hot/warm water from there to keep yourself clean if needed... Do you have communal, public bathhouses in Budapest? It will be fine. You'll get through this. If you're worried about Ukraine: donate, if you can, but most importantly urge your politicians and EU officials to send us more aid, more weapons... There's this soviet/ukrainian cartoon called Once upon a Dog (Жив був Пес), the dog in that cartoon is old and pathetic and needs theatrics to seem tough. Think of russian army as this dog. In soviet times other soviet republics would be like wolf in that film: acting submissive to get table scraps. There's no USSR anymore. They will loose. А ми переможемо. Слава Україні

If you interested you can watch Once upon a dog on YouTube with English subtitles, I do recommend it, it's funny. Hope you didn't interpret my previous "ask" about water and war as me scolding you: I do understand this tough psychologically for people even outside of Ukraine. But I do believe russian army won't go that far, not cause they don't want, but cause Ukrainian army won't let them, and they are weakest they ever been (Since Chechnya wars, that they barely "won" - by negotiating with Kadyrov faction - and it's inside their own country).

ohhh no no don't misunderstand me i don't think the war will come here and . based on the way things have been going, if we do join the war it'll be on Russia's side which! lmfao! i fucking hate it here!!!! im just sayin it's like. shit like this makes it feel so much more real like there's thousands of people dying or having their lives permanently altered and for fucking what. even if it didnt/doesn't really affect me directly (it does in many ways esp economically but there's no war in my city so yknow. could be way worse) it's still horrific to think about and that this shit still happens like big egomaniac men will still go to war over fucking.. scraps of land. so yknow. also the fact that from november 1st we're officially in a "state of war" which means there's now nothing stopping them from bringing mandatory drafting back for anyone bwn 18 and 25 so! that's fucking fun!

[papirouge]

Israel is an example of a minority group overcoming discrimination by arab states those palestinians left gambling on the idea that they would return to a land free of jews , they thought wrong maybe you'd be less mad if this minority group wasn't white adjacent and western affiliated

"israel is an example of minority group overcoming discrimination by Arab state"

LMAO what kind of clown revisionism crap is that? Jews for most of their history have been discriminated, brutalized and genocided by.....WHITE EUROPEANS. I'll never understand how Zionist Jews flaunt belonging to a "4000 years old civilization" but are struck by Alzheimer's when it comes to acknowledge that their biggest oppressor throughout their most recent history have been White/not Arab, and that they've been kicked out of European countries FOR CENTURIES by some same western countries people like you are shilling their proximity from to milk some wack "you hate jews bc they're close to whiteness uwu". Deranged.

Aren't Jews hellbent saying they're not White anyway ? So why are you shoe horning their proximity to whiteness to claim some snowflake oppression complex?

I will never understand how Zionist are willing to give pass to all the European countries that actually oppressed Jews, only to accuse every Arab person of hating Jews when their cardinal crime was to.....not give away part of their land for a foreign settler project called "Zionism"?? The cognitive dissonance is staggering.

And Jewish people aren't a minority group in ISRAEL, genius. wth are you talking about? Their experience has nothing to do with diasporic Jews spread accross the world. Or do you see Palestinians being bombed and see a "discriminated minority group" because diasporic Palestinians are also a minority too? or you're just a racist who's only willing to extend your grace to a few chosen people ? (pun intended)

Israel lost the last shred of benevolence it has left the few weeks after October 7, and it can only blame itself. Not the Arabs, or some anti white (proximity) oppression. Get real.

I'm no friend to Muslim Arab country but if anything they've shown a lot of patience and resilience before Israel provocations and brute force. Jewish brag about their sense of fellowship but just you wait before the Arab umma strikes back for good and bites Israel butt.

If anything, the only people being mad are people like you popping on randos inbox preaching your zionist propaganda because you know you're losing. You lost the cultural war. You guys got so desperate you spread the fake news it was bots but nope, the world is really that tired of you lol.

Israel will never win. Isral never managed to eradicate Hamas and never will. Israel was supposed to ve a haven for Jews around the world and yet it didn't stop October from happening 7. The Zionist project is inherently flawed because establishing a Jewish state de facto puts Jews at a bigger danger for "anti jew" attacks. For alleged "God chosen people" there's something very ironic with them unable to conquer a strip of land with people not even having an army to put up against them. I'm Christian and I can't help connecting the dots but hey, Jews have been unable to recognize Jesus as the Messiah so it's not like they were the most sensible people to prophetic clues ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Israel gambled on the idea that the world would let them do anything they was in Gaza by pulling out the antisemitism card. It's not working anymore. The whole world sides with Palestine. It would've been unthinkable to see "Fuck Israel" trending a year ago. YOU did it. So congratulations for playing yourself.

[gaykarstaagforever]

Oh my god, watching journalists try to understand why VICE and Buzzfeed are tanking.

"WELL I GUESS PEOPLE JUST LOVE THE NEW YORK TIMES BECAUSE OF ITS QUALITY JOURNALISM!"

If you are of a class where old-fashioned news reporting matters to you, yes, you subscribe to the Times. But that amounts to only 10 million subscriptions for them. As compared to the 300 million Americans using the Internet.

People don't want to pay for fucking news, stupids. And they aren't. You are all fighting over a tiny mountain of money specially reserved for the most soulless corporate shills. Society as a whole is NOT CONSUMING NEWS THIS WAY ANYMORE.

They just cannot admit they have already lost the war. They still have to act like someone needs them. When it is overwhelmingly obvious no one does.

Yes, that does make us less-informed and dumber. Obviously. And we are. And we don't care. We're not paying your mortgage so you can write bitchy thinkpieces about TV shows you don't like. You're not getting a travel budget, plus daily expenses, from us so you can stand there somewhere in the South and breathlessly "both sides" your way into making the Far Right mainstream. I am not buying you $700 shoes for that dinner party with federal court nominees and lobbyists so you can later pretend you were there all night conducting serious adult business. We don't do it that way anymore. It is too expensive and we have other ways of getting chunks of information when we need it. That is a fractured system but it is FREE.

Vice and Buzzfeed were condescending attempts by old journalists in the 2010s to trick "the hip youth" into consuming news the old-fashioned way. They dressed it up with trendy Internet bullshit but it was just ABC News again. And the only thing that made its financial model "new" was pimping videos on YouTube for sweet Google ad-revenue. Oh what a brilliant idea! News is saved!

The trendy bullshit held on for awhile. Then it still made money because people laughed at it. But then that fell off, too. And while there were random successes of serious traditional news reporting out of that...who was paying for that? The bullshit. The second the bullshit lost value in the market, bam!, the money for reporting dried up. Because no one under 60 is paying you for news. We. Don't. Do. That. Anymore. It was a doomed endeavor.

The Times and Wall Street Journal and television network news hold out because billionaires keep plowing money into them, no matter how much or little they generate, because those billionaires need them as organs of political influence and narrative control. That is the ONLY reason they persist. Yes, many are actually profitable, because the accountants running them are expensive and have tailored them to thrive in the specific weird markets they are faced with. That's all. It not because they are beloved and respected for quality expensive journalism by a nonexistent Monoculture that loves the Times crossword.

This is like a blacksmith in 1908 saying the problem isn't that the Model T has come out, the problem is that not enough other blacksmiths are wearing eye-catching hats.

Traditional news-for-profit is motherfucking dead. Any attempts to revive it will fail. News is a commodity now, and we'll buy the cheapest supply, which may be shit quality but is free. We are not paying you for "perspective and context" anymore.

The reason Tucker Carlson lost his shit trying to lie to Trump voters to woo them back was because he knew that the MOMENT Fox News loses its hold over the old and stupid, his $20 million salary is impossible to justify anymore. He was one of the lucky rare media goons making that kind of money from "news." And to do that, his "news" network has by this point degraded into a platform for far-right propaganda that only maintains an actual news desk so they can point at it when people accuse them of having no point but evil. And Tucker was demanding that news desk lie about election fraud because the propaganda part was where all the money is. Obviously, even Fox News's ancient audience of mummies DOESN'T WANT TO PAY FOR NEWS.

You have a passion for journalism? Take your phone and go do journalism. Figure out how to pay your bills later. It isn't a job anymore. Get the fuck over it and stop trying to sell quality horseshoes on the streets of Detroit.

[kindtobechurlish]

You would see I am whimsical, and you see why I don’t like a guy. He is just shilling for Kikes, “fine people”, playing both sides of the fence. The idiots who were saying, “Jews will not replace us”, don’t know Cato, but a woman who wants to marry me is ready to sit amongst one of them and say “N.” How can you be a woman, be ready to go so far as to cut your hair short, and now you are looking at me like I AM CURSED! Suddenly you give message you want to have all these kids, and you are against women. No. You are against having a daughter. You would rather have a son, and his hair be silky and dreaded, and when he gets introduced to basketball he cuts his hair and becomes “a man.” You would see my mom made me a man at five, without telling me, and now you wanna tell some baby. Dude, why do you preach that Hillary Blithé stuff, just to see me like a daughter is cursed!? You want me to feel safe hate, you heard coon songs and you don’t want nothing to do with straightened hair.. I’m getting to know you, and it’s more so personified how I act.

Why is everything with women a variable that’s supposed to make me refer to self-hate? You must really envy what I’m doing! You want to have a son because you envy me, you figure if you marry who you envy and you give birth to what you envy.. a male.. then you got a head and you can influence. I would be royal, and now you don’t have the obstacles of my mom.. and you could even get with me and get in “cabinet.” You would say weird, I would come and rebuke, and now I’m here remind you that you always want me to refer to self-hate: you and your N, you are olde worlde with it! I say a lot by literature, and the voice just feeds the beast? Well, propaganda is congregation for propagation of the faith. Some woman is imagining me in a palace, and I personify why I don’t want to be on a stage. She doesn’t want to hang out, she doesn’t want to have sex, she wants to continue to test out some idée fixe and make a “fixed idea” come about.. and that’s why I say go suck academy dick. She gets mad! Well, the only quaint thing many women can do is make me refer to self hate. I said let’s try out some Hillary Blithé Stuff, and she envies me. Am I stopping her from making a tumbler, and doing some digging??