The Daily Zeitgeist - Weekly Zeitgeist 308 (Best of 2/5/24-2/9/24)

Episode Date: February 11, 2024

The weekly round-up of the best moments from DZ's season 324 (2/5/24-2/9/24)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Jess Casavetto, executive producer of the hit Netflix documentary series Dancing for the Devil, the 7M TikTok cult. And I'm Clea Gray, former member of 7M Films and Shekinah Church. And we're the host of the new podcast, Forgive Me for I Have Followed. Together, we'll be diving even deeper into the unbelievable stories behind 7M Films and Shekinah Church. Listen to Forgive Me for I Have Followed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Gianna Pradenti. And I'm Jemay Jackson-Gadsden. We're the hosts of Let's Talk Offline from LinkedIn News and iHeart Podcasts. There's a lot to figure out when you're just

starting your career. That's where we come in. Think of us as your work besties you can turn to for advice. And if we don't know the answer, we bring in people who do, like negotiation expert Maury Tahiripour. If you start thinking about negotiations as just a conversation, then I think it sort of eases us a little bit. Listen to Let's Talk Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports.

Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese on the iHeart on the iheart radio app apple podcast or wherever you

get your podcast presented by elf beauty founding partner of iheart women's sports hello the internet and welcome to this episode of the weekly zeitgeist uh these are some of our favorite segments from this week all edited together into one uh non-stop infotainment laughstravaganza. Yeah. So without further ado, here is the weekly zeitgeist. Well, Miles, we're thrilled to be joined in our third seat by a digital research analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, where she researches online hate, extremism, disinformation in the U.S. It's Sabine Lawrence. Hey, thanks for having me.

Oh, thank you for stopping by. Thanks for being here on our silly show. Yeah. To talk about serious things, because it's a big year ahead in 2024, from what I hear. because it's a big year ahead in 2024 from what i hear um what i'm hearing it sounds like people keep saying that and i'm like what like why what's so big what's going on what is it because of the super bowl because yeah they have a super bowl every year i was i was already involved in politics in 2020 and that was probably one of the most stressful years of my life hands down it was non-stop i think i had like four or five just straight like seven day weeks in the office till one two in the morning ordering food getting rashes from the stress it was just awful i can't imagine what this year's gonna be uh it was it was mostly just all the prep work all of the um

like because i'm researched extremism vaguely then and it was like getting all the prep work. All of the, like, because I researched extremism vaguely then. And it was like getting all of the seed lists to get in all the groups, to get in all the Discord chats, to kind of make the way. So when things kind of popped off, yeah. When things popped off, then like I was in it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. I'm always amazed at like, you know, people like you and your colleague, Jared Holt, who we've had on the show many times. And he was like, you got to talk to Sabine. He got like, of course, then if you if you say like, we love the work you do. But I'm always amazed at like how people get into monitoring extremism. Like what, how what was your journey there? Like, what were you doing? Like, I know you said 2020 is when you start getting into it what were you doing in like 2018 like what was things very different or what was your sort of path into this kind of work uh really funny i actually started doing this as a joke um i was

in college 2018 2019 but i was anthropology major i recently switched and incels were like the big laughing stock punching back to the internet at the time. I think ContraPoints had her video on incels. And I was like obsessed with it. And so for my thesis, I was like, oh, how about what if I did like a funny ethnography on like the inner lives of incels? Like as a goof for my thesis, it doesn't matter. I'm already going to graduate. I did it. And then I, that was December 2019.

And then I looked for jobs in 2020, January, and I got picked up by GQR, which is like a polling consortium. And they were looking for researchers who already knew about that kind of under CD underbelly of the internet stuff. And I got picked up immediately after that, and then worked for the whole election season. And I ended up becoming my career path fully on accident. and then worked for the whole election season. And I ended up becoming my career path fully on accident. Yeah. And are you embracing that?

I know you say like it's on accident, but I mean, like... No, it's I fell in love with the field and the people are really great. And it just ended up being a really good mix for me. Right. Something tells me you're a pretty good student when you do a thesis as a goof and get away with it. They're like, damn, this is really fucking good. Fucking killed that thesis. Maybe you want to do this for a living?

Hire them. Yeah. That's amazing. What is something from your search history that's revealing about who you are? Well, the last thing I Googled was the 49ers because I wanted to give myself a 49er Valentine's nails, some Valentiners. And I did it.

Unfortunately, the people at home. Oh, shit. Oh, those are beautiful. SF logo. Wait, you did that? I was looking up the logos. Yeah. And I did a 49.

Oh, shit. Damn. Lip prints. Yeah. I like doing my nails. And I was like, ooh, it's Valentine's Day. The Niners are going to the Super Bowl. I'm going to do SF Valentiner nails.

Okay. Okay. Yeah. You're a Niner fan? Yeah. My family, when my parents came from El Salvador, they landed in San Francisco. And so they were just hardcore Joe Montana fans immediately. Because they were just like, yeah, let's do the American thing.

Watch football. And they tried baseball, didn't do the American thing. Watch football. And they, they tried baseball, didn't like it. And they, but they loved football. And so my parents have always been Niner fans since they got to this country.

So we have always been Niner fans. And my brother is so excited that they're going to the Superbowl. And we always like do shit on Superbowl Sunday. Like we always just have food and we just hang out. It's just like a reason to kick it with the family, which I always like. So. Okay. I got my nails ready for the weekend yeah damn dip christmas you know just so many chips so many dips so many chips so yeah what's the spread what's the spread like for your family you never know my mom likes to do different things sometimes she'll order everything

sometimes she'll make everything sometimes it's potluck style everybody brings some things i don't know i don't i don't't think she has thought about it yet. So I'm excited to find out. Yeah. Miles, are you partaking this year? I, I didn't really,

uh, no, I don't have plans, but I mean, passively I'll end up doing, I mean like maybe have it on in the background. Yeah. Maybe.

I mean, I got to catch that halftime show. Uh, see what that's about. Yeah. I want to see her shirt, but no, I don't really, I mean, I mean i've as a kid i was just never that like i was into the nfl when like everybody was into the nfl in the 90s i'm like oh yeah when deon sanders was playing with the niners too and even

the cowboys i was like going back and forth with that whole thing but then i just never i just never got fully bit by it so i was just you know yeah there's a great joe montana story that is making the rounds that i love where he yeah so the phone thing is the latest update that dirt he would call his wife from the field like during games and like the field that they seem on the bench like with yeah there's a phone on the bed like everyone's like oh he must be talking to his offensive coordinator yeah calling his wife because he realized he could. And, like, another thing about him that is, like, kind of similar energy is, like, there's this famous, like, drive. He, like, brings the 49ers down the field in the Super Bowl.

And, like, the highest stress situation that a quarterback, like, had been in to that point and one of the players on his team like recalled that like he came in the huddle to talk to them and he was just like kind of looking over their heads and then he was like is that john candy and then he just like pointed and John Candy was on the side. And then he was like, all right, let's go out. And, you know, it just like chilled everyone the fuck out. They're just like, man, this guy doesn't give a fuck. He's like, oh, man, you've seen planes, trains and automobiles? Yeah, that shit is so funny.

Gosh. I love that. That's how you know someone's really good at their job. Yeah. Like they can be distracted and it doesn't affect their game. Yeah, exactly. And they're like, yeah, all right, we back in it. OK. that was john candy right okay yeah and it's john candy yeah that motherfucker was huge in the 80s and 90s so that was like probably like oh shit yeah right just great taste you know great that he knew john candy was like recognized that of

all the celebrities all the 80s celebrities that's the one you point at. Well, he was a big motherfucker. You could spot him a mile away. That's true. It's also for practical purposes. He could get his linemen to see him. That's funny. I do love that phone story because the wife, the first time it happened,

she was just like, I was watching the game and then the phone rings and I was like, who's calling me during my game? My husband's game. She picked up the phone and was like, hey, honey. She was like, what are you watching the game and then the phone rings. And I was like, who's calling me during my, you know, my game. My husband's game. She picked up the phone. Hey, honey. She was like, what are you doing? Get back to the game.

Oh, my God. That's a hell of a funny. Yeah. I love that. It's crazy, right? The phone works. It's like a real phone. That's what he said.

That's what he said. He said that he was like, he just was like, you know, because I think you like, remember you used to dial nine to dial outside. Right. Yeah. He said he just out of nowhere just decided to try it and it worked? Right. Yeah, yeah. He just, out of nowhere, just decided to try it, and it worked. Yeah. It's adorable.

So cute. I know. What a little, like, love story for Valentine's Day. I know. I love that shit. They're still together? Yeah. Okay, good.

That would have been wild. He's like, yeah, I divorced her right after I got the first Super Bowl game. Start calling some other girls. It was a good man right there. Yeah, okay. All right, Joe. Montana. What a name, too.

Joe Montana. And that's the other thing. That was my parents' favorite player. So, like, you know, that's the other thing with the Niners. They associate it with, oh, Joe Montana. So, like, when he came out, when the Niners won the last game, he came out. My mom was like, Joe Montana. It's like, he's such a fucking huge icon.

So, it's cool. It's just cool. It's just kind of nice to see that, you know, those associations my parents have. Yeah. What is something you think is overrated? Overrated. Okay. So I am, I will just say this.

I live in an area that is very much becoming heavily gentrified. And they just put, and I still don't comprehend. And I guess, okay. So I understand why there's a starbucks on every corner however they just put another chick-fil-a on the other side of one of the streets that yes like there's a chick-fil-a right on one side when you get off the freeway yeah and then they just put another chick-fil-a on the other side of to like traffic like depending on what's direction you're going in.

Yeah. And I'm like, this is so stupid. But it is, it's causing a lot of backup. Like the, like one of the main streets that I used to get into my apartment complex is now like I'm having to go around or go through the back gate now because of how much traffic it is. And it's just stupid. And I guess my overrated, to get to my point, is the food is not that good. I'm sorry. I don't believe that. I mean, it's not even

about the hate. It's like, the food is just not that good. And the lines are always so long. And I'm like, do people really like unseasoned food that much? Like, because it's not seasoned well. The oil is not good. Like like there's nothing about

chick-fil-a that's good i don't get it they don't even have soda they don't have soda no i think they only have tea and lemonade no they gotta have soda there's no way i have soda my husband said that they do not have soda and i am almost 100 they don't i don't think they carry soda that's is that crime against fast food but yeah they're they do they have coke i'm not i was gonna say hold on you can't i was like dr john you cannot operate in the united states without offering coke or pepsi or yeah fake news is but yeah or mitch mcconnell will come for you right but the food is still terrible it's not i mean obviously what we learned with this the chicken sandwich wars other people learned how to make a good chicken sandwich so you can no longer say that there's only one rightful heir to

the chicken sandwich throne but yeah to your point i hate when it like every time a chick-fil-a opens up it the traffic it causes it's just like the same thing because for so long in the West coast, people never had Chick-fil-A. And there's always things like when I go back, used to visit my family or whatever, like we go to Chick-fil-A and now that it's here, it becomes like, they got Chick-fil-A and you got to line up.

And sure. Sure. It's just same with In-N-Out. In-N-Out is also overrated. It's good, but it's overrated. At least it's good. I was just having that thought.

There are these fast food restaurants that have ceased being fast food because they are so popular. I think the two that jump out to me are Chick-fil-A and In-N-Out. In-N-Out, though, once you're done, you just feel like you you got what you came for. Whereas Chick-fil-A, yeah, I feel like it's, it's just kind of coasting on reputation at this point and like be having been rolled out at a good speed where it like never got overexposed or something. And that's why Chick-fil-A, like, I feel like they did something smart along the way. They capitalized on some social contagion. And now I think this is just like a very classically good overrated. I think you're absolutely right. The Chick-fil-A is just, you know. And I know we've mentioned it here

before. I've listened to the show daily and I know that it's been mentioned, but I just had to go back on record and just say it's not worth the time. It is not like even, and I think to your point, I think a lot of it has to do with those, the quote unquote Christian values. I think there's so many people who are like, well, because it's such a strong Christian org, that's why we support it because we're good Christians. And it's like, baby, you like, there's better food out there. Like spend your money somewhere else. Someone just made a point about raising canes. Now, I'm one of those clowns that will sit in line for raising canes. Raising canes is good.

I don't care what nobody says. You're like, now give me some fucking canes. I'm a caniac. You got caniacs in the building. I have a caniac with that cane sauce. No, I have not had canes. I have not had raising canes. Oh, Jack, are you a Christian?

You ain't been raising cane? Oh, my Lord. Some days I wasn't able, there was always cane. There is, baby. This might actually be the one. Like, I think this is maybe the 14th positive review I've heard of raising cane. So maybe this is the one that gets me there. And then think, remember in the rehearsal, Nathan built an entire raising canes for that one guy to confront his brother?

It's in the air. It's in the air. Yeah. I am that girl that will pre-start. I can pre-start my car from an app and I will pre-start my car to get in it to go down to the Raising Cane's, honey. Yes. Yeah. I mean, because also, I mean, if you, oh yeah, you put Cane's up against Chick-fil-A. I'm sorry, Chick-fil-A. You have to go all the way to the back because the chick-fil-a sauce it ain't it ain't it's not the cane sauce what's that other chicken place zaxby's is good too when i go back east i always like zaxby's zaxby's is really good what uh what's something you think is underrated chris experts like people valuing an expert's opinion i know this is a little out of not is a little not as on the nose as airport

lounges, but I feel like any more people will ask me about TV shows or storytelling or things in the media and be like, what do you think of this? And I'll give them my opinion and they'll be like, well, no, I don't know. And I'm like, okay, never mind. That's boring.

It's not what they want to hear. They're just like, oh, but don't you think this? And I'm like, no, I actually think exactly the opposite. And here's why. And they just that just doesn't. It doesn't permeate. It doesn't they're like just that doesn't agree with what they're into. And so they're just like, I'm going to just set that aside and not even.

Right. And I'm like, OK. Yeah. I mean, it's like it's interesting. It takes it takes a person to be able to hear a thing that they weren't prepared for and just be like, oh, that's new information. Or do the whatever ostrich effect or whatever they call it. It's like, no, actually, I'm going to just put my head in the ground because I don't like what you just said. And that's more comfortable for me.

Well, that's just like your opinion, man. Effect. Yeah. The dude. The dude effect. And I feel like you guys have a lot of experts on this show in different ways and being we do well tell me about this

and like you actually listen to them and like want to hear more and ask them follow up questions rather than just be like but don't you actually think that blah blah blah is the thing I've been waiting to say the whole time but you should hear after after they get off the zoom call you guys are like this fucking shit.

Right. We're like, can you believe it? Doctor. Oh yeah. You're like, Oh, he produced reality television.

Give me a fucking break. Why should we trust? Why should we trust his opinion on how that scene was filmed on that season? He worked on that episode. He worked on that episode of Real Housewives. Miles, I wish I was joking when i was like i was there when this no you were and they're like but and i'm like there is no but like i watched this happen in real life right right you don't want to believe what i'm telling you yeah yeah yeah oh man that's amazing is there is there a scene from like a reality show you've been on

that has been analyzed like the zapruder film oh yeah a million of i don't even like i'm trying to think of like an example not not zapruder film level but there's definitely been stuff where it's like why did this person do this and i'm like because of this and they're like huh i don't know i'm trying to think of like a good. Here's a broad one. Why do they talk about the person knowing that this is going to be on TV? Is it because

they know that the messiness is part of the product? Or is it people like you, Chris, the producers? No, let that out. Or are they a certain type of person who is just... Someone will leave the room and they'll be like, well, that out. Let that out. time that they saw them or whatever happened over the time that we've not seen them like since we've been filming we i saw this person at this place and blah blah and it really is about if you want to go into like a housewives realm it really is just about their interpersonal relationships and so it's like you are wanting to hear the opinion of them and it's they know

that that's i mean that is what they know yeah right yeah yeah it's about them being friends or lack thereof or being in a fight or not being in a fight. Right. Exactly. About them as a group of friends. And so, like, they know that what time it is. And then the added calculus is, am I willing to scream about it in the tell all? You damn right I am.

I will. So I'll say this shit right now to camera. Yeah. Which is like how the first season of Survivor was about, like, people trying to figure shit out and survive. Like the premise the ostensible premise of that show and then every season after that is like people who have studied the game of Survivor

and are playing the game of Survivor. Oh yeah now it's like yeah now it's like who is like the Wikipedia of Survivor times that by 30 and now here they are. Yeah and they're going to be great at the show. Yeah whereas like if I was like I've watched like most of the seasons they're like absolutely not you can never come on the show. Right. Whereas if I was like, I've watched most of the seasons, they're like, absolutely not. You can never come on the show.

Right. Yeah. They're like, you don't want to stalk Jeff Probst? I don't think so. Yeah, yeah, exactly. I mean, we all want to stalk Jeff Probst a little bit, right? Don't we? King.

All right, let's take a quick break, and we'll be right back. All right, let's take a quick break and we'll be right back. I'm Jess Casavetto, executive producer of the hit Netflix documentary series, Dancing for the Devil, the 7M TikTok cult. And I'm Clea Gray, former member of 7M Films and Shekinah Church. And we're the host of the new podcast, Forgive Me For I Have Followed. Together, we'll be diving even deeper into the unbelievable stories behind 7M Films and LA-based Shekinah Church, an alleged cult that has impacted members

for over two decades. Jessica and I will delve into the hidden truths between high-control groups and interview dancers, church members, and others whose lives and careers have been impacted, just like mine. Through powerful, in-depth interviews with former members and new, chilling firsthand accounts, the series will illuminate untold and extremely necessary perspectives. Forgive Me For I Have Followed will be more than an

exploration. It's a vital revelation aimed at ensuring these types of abuses never happen again. Listen to Forgive Me For I Have Followed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. questions like, how do I speak up when I'm feeling overwhelmed? Or can I negotiate a higher salary if this is my first real job? Girl, yes. Each week, we answer your unfiltered work questions. Think of us as your work besties you can turn to for advice. And if we don't know the answer, we bring in experts who do, like resume specialist Morgan Saner. The only difference between the person who doesn't get the job and the person who gets the job is usually who applies. Yeah, I think a lot about that quote. What is it like you miss 100% of the shots you never take? Yeah, rejection is scary, but it's better than you rejecting yourself. Together, we'll share what it really takes to

thrive in the early years of your career without sacrificing your sanity or sleep. Listen to Let's Talk Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports, where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history.

People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Every great player needs a foil. I ain't really near them boys. I just come here to play basketball every single day, and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically black. I love her.

What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game? And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better. This new season will cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. And we're back! Hey! Yay, brought us back. She always beats me to it. Love to come back. I love to come back. Yay, we're back!

And we're fucking back, y'all. Here we are with the boys and the one girl, questionably. Talking about some pretty cool stuff, man. We got stuff to talk about. Goddamn, man. Sure do. Federal Appeals Court. Goddamn just rejected arguments for refusing to wear a mask during the first COVID outbreak was legally protected free speech.

That's so wild that like it was hard to take that as a real statement or someone who was actually saying it. I had to reread it because it was actually I was kind of confused. I was like, wait, what? Yeah. Fuck is this guy saying? So a federal appeals court just rejected arguments that refusing to wear masks during the first COVID outbreak was legally protected free speech. That's what the fuck I said, man.

That's what the fuck I said. So an L for the anti-mask crowd. Yeah, big L. Big super L. Super L. I mean, too late probably. I guess it'll be valuable for our next global pandemic. But there are these two related cases involving people who claimed that they had been retaliated against by the New Jersey school boards for refusing to wear masks during the health emergency.

And what one of them was just dismissed out of hand because they're like, like your definition of retaliated against. missed out a hand because they're like, like your definition of retaliated against. Right. Like borders on the nonsensical. So like we don't like you. You have not proved that you were retaliated against. The other one was kicked back to a lower court. They took it serious as a legal argument and were like, you know, refusing to wear a mask during a public health emergency didn't amount to free speech protected by the Constitution.

They pointed out that this makes as much sense as refusing to pay taxes or wear a motorcycle helmet as a symbolic protest, which I don't know why they had to come for the ones that I'm actually down with.

Not wearing a motorcycle helmet or not. I mean, I don't pay taxes, but not wearing a motorcycle helmet or not i mean i don't know no connie crew over here that's right okay february 8th no condom day impinge on my freedom yeah you know what was that song you made like 10 years ago you're like oh no condom style oh oh yeah you had a whole music video and everything okay no pun intended that's funny i used to do parody songs too until one of my friends made fun of me and i believed him oh man i'm so pissed i let him hurt my feelings wait really yeah i used to there was a did a rude boy parody the rihanna and it was like i did like uh like if i was from the version of snooki snooki's perspective and it was just

basically like fuck me without a condom and fuck me in the hot tub and it was just gross it was funny though man and you're a great singer as well yeah you know when i was still rough and it was just gross it was funny though man and you're a great singer as well you know when it was still rough but it was fun yeah i love i love it go back in the lab go back in the lab you know what my partner makes music and um so i'm gonna i don't know if i told you guys i'm moving to chicago and i'm excited yeah and i'm excited because he makes music. So we, we're going to make music together, like literally and figuratively. And, um,

I'm excited. Cause I, I was like, I want to do like five song of every genre. Right. Right. Right. Cause he can.

And I'm, we just, we don't take it serious. Anyways, back to the news guys. What are we talking about? Nothing. What are your genres though?

I want to do like, Oh yeah. Everything. I want to do, I want to do like, oh yeah, everything. You're going to do country? I want to do, I want to do like, you remember in the, like the late 90s and early 2000s,

there was a lot of male rapper, female singer, a lot of all-mans. Like, we want to do shit like a five song of just that, doing that style.

Right, right, right. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Like that type of shit. Very hyper-specific shit, but we're going to do all kinds of shit and I'm very excited. That's fun. It's going to be fun. I'll be on here promoting that shit, too. Yeah, exactly. Like that type of shit. Very hyper specific shit. But we're going to do all kinds of shit. I'm very excited. It's going to be fun. I'll be on here promoting that shit, too. Yeah, please. We'll ride out on it. All right. We do need to catch up on other more important stories. Masking, obviously, was important, but not important anymore. Whatever. Who cares? on the other hand we we gotta hear what donald trump thinks about bud light oh yeah this is a big one did a full 180 um this is just wild for some reason let's call it cash uh donald trump has declared on boof social that bud light is no

longer on the mega shit list and you like. And this post, you know when somebody else writes his shit? Because it's a little too coherent and it follows a bit of structure. Shout out chat GPT. Right. Stylistically, it reads like his. He just said, the Bud Light ad was a mistake of epic proportions. And for that, a very big price was paid. But Anheuser-Busch is not a

woke company, but I can give you plenty that are. I'm building a list and might just release it for the world to see. Why not? The radical left does it viciously to well-run conservative companies and people. Very nasty. But it's the way they play the game. On the other hand, Anheuser-Busch spends $700 million a year with our great farmers. Employed 65,000. It's like starts running down all this shit that Anheuser-Busch is doing. Yeah, this was written by him. He just tooted a couple 300-gram Adderalls and then banged this out. Wait, can we give Miles props for that?

You've been working on that impression. It's great. Thank you. Coming for somebody who's killing it uh on national television with impressions that actually means a lot marcella so i appreciate bro i love an impression i love from an asian guy we don't get enough of that no no exactly you don't have you know we're the biracial like i could be leaning into every race right now and i get to because i'm black and asian yeah. Okay. Sorry. Hate to use that excuse again, like the one from the 90s.

But anyway, it's like interesting to see or figure out what caused this whole thing. Maybe the donation stop from Anheuser-Busch. Is it because he's BFFs with Dana White and the UFC and Bud Light? Like that's like their main one of their main sponsors. Is it because he saw some polling that made him realize that being a piece of shit to people all the time is bad? Others point out, is it because he has between one and five million

dollars in Anheuser-Busch in Bev stock? Well, well, well. Isn't that interesting? Who the fuck knows? But I love how he's just talking about conning an American company. They're owned by a Belgian company. American company. They're owned by a, like, they're owned, it's a Belgian company. American companies.

Yeah. So, yeah. Great American brand. The good news is his supporters don't look at facts. So now they're an American company. Right. And also a lot of people pointed out when they were boycotting Bud Light, they're like, they were probably just buying another beer owned by the same company.

Owned by, yeah. What's it called? Like AdBev or? Anheuser-Busch InBev. InBev. Yeah, exactly. And I think also, to be clear too, like when he's like, the advertisement was a big mistake. They're talking about the Dylan Mulvaney thing, where they sent out, like Bud Light

sent out a bunch of personalized cans to influencers with their face on it and dylan mulvaney happened to be on that group of influencers that got a can so she posted the fact that she got a bud light can and everyone's like they're doing a fucking whole ad campaign that's like we're like just all of that is where all of this shit started but who knows there's other people like on twitter who are like being like yo this is just a conspiracy like republicans like to tank a brand that they own stock in and then they buy the dip and then like, oh, wow, that's a great idea.

I need to start doing that. Yeah. They're like, yo, they're like, hey, if you're in the stock market, like just see what company they're going after. And if the stock price starts going down, buy the dip. Yeah. Same advice I give you ahead of Super Bowl Sunday. Wow. That's great financial advice.

Go out, buy that dip. Buy the dip. It's dip Christmas in the stocks, bitch. Dip Christmas. Yeah. It's also, like, I do just want to acknowledge that that whole about that has been like bud light fucked up big time and like had a terrible year right and like people in the business community like i think this is one of the stories that is driving that whole uh backlash to having any sort of moral compass

as a corporation right you know that like they're just now you know saying that we're gonna invest in like esg or you know any sort of diversity equity initiative like all of that is a bad word in when you're doing your earnings calls because yeah because they're shit like this and yeah it's a shame it's it's very frustrating well you know they, because they're shit like this. And, yeah, it's a shame. It's very frustrating. Well, you know, they've got, they're doing, you know, Shane Gillis is the new face of Bud Light and shit. Is he? Yeah. Damn, he's killing it.

He's going to host SNL this weekend. I think they're trying to be like, hey, man, look, we kind of fuck with shitty people, too, who have, like, some questionable past and things like that. Like, don't, what the fuck, you know? You know, but the reason that works is because most people are shitty and Republicans aren't afraid to accept their shitty past and their shitty present and their shitty future. It's kind of their whole thing.

Yeah. There's none there. Yeah, we don't care. All right. I do want to get to what's happening in the state legislature of Florida. What if I don't let you get to that, huh? Oh, shit. Well, I don't know. I must. Let's find out. Unfortunately, I must. No, I can't increase your buzz, bro.

Please. I'm working on it. Thank you for noticing. I'm working on it right now. About to pull your card, homie. Yeah, so there's a bill currently making its way through the chambers that would essentially prevent live performance venues from canceling a performer for exercising their free speech rights

and not just their ability to not wear a mask when they don't want to. Exactly. But, you know, you can't cancel a show if the performer says, like, racist or homophobic shit. Okay? That's the law now. So this bill is, you you know it's being debated it says like the text of it says quote the owner or operator of a public venue may not cancel a live performance of an artist or performer musical group because the artist performers or musical groups lawful exercise of

freedom of speech or their personal beliefs for the purpose so basically what they're saying is if that happens then they have to pay damages or like, you know, execute whatever financials are in the in the contract between the two and be like, OK, well, then you owe them that kind of shit. And people are like, what the what's the point? Like, there's real shit happening all over the fucking place. of the bill couldn't really even point to one example where this has happened except wait the one time the libs messed up my midlife crisis band statewide tour so this is what senator fucking sky what's his name let me make sure i i want to make sure i have his full name out there joel rudman senator joel rudman he posted this shit on Facebook. Shout out to Robin Pananke on Wonkat for putting this piece together because it's so eye opening. He posted this shit on Facebook about his own fucking band.

This is a elected official in Florida. Quote, this is what liberals do. When I announced my concert tour, I used Eventbrite to process free tickets so I could get a rough head count for each gig. The woke mob liberals flooded my system with fake emails and bogus names. So now we have no way of knowing how many to expect. Show these radicals what happens when you try to cancel conservatives.

Come out and force tomorrow night to Horsepower Pavilion at 7 p.m. These liberals tried to cancel my voice. I became Navarro's business of the year. Then they tried to cancel my medical. I became Navarro's business of the year. Then they tried to cancel my medical career. I became state representative. Now they are trying to cancel my concert tour. What the fuck?

Wow. Yeah. He's not a businessman. He's a business man. He's a businessman. Now let him handle his business. He became Navarro's business of the year. Yeah, exactly.

So this guy basically couldn't accept the fact that no one wanted to see his shitty band and decided to waste time by using his office to create a bill that will most likely fail. Because like, let's be real, Florida isn't some place where they're canceling acts for being pieces of shit. That's why that shit doesn't make sense, because to me, I hear it as like, oh, that's actually good for people that are like pro-palestine because they're getting shit ripped out from under them exactly and and it's like but in florida you know like no one's getting upset that you're homophobic or racist or whatever the fuck that's actually gonna sell tickets i think but because he was giving away free tickets that's your problem sir yeah and again it's just like it's like half i think it's probably 95 this guy's fragile fucking ego and then five percent like obviously this is like the culture war playbook

101 it's like act as if this woke threat exists in your state when actually your state is like the antithesis of that right and that's pretty much what he's doing but dude this guy's fucking banned i had a feeling this guy's band was going to suck. And then he got to that paragraph where he was like, then they tried to cancel my medical career. Yeah. Like, wait, so you're not even a musician. You're just a doctor. Come down to Horsepower Pavilion.

I could make that sounds like a made up venue name and like a viral tweet that someone would write. It sounds like death puppy comedy club in manteca california but an actual place in manteca california gets your tickets uh at the end of this month so yeah his band is called dr rudman and the freedom fighters and then like i think their tour was called uh the let me just get this right it was called the god guns and less government tour oh wow so i just want to give y'all a quick taste of this of his band cannot wait god guns and less government how cool how rock and roll is that the wild thing is like a group of like middle-aged dudes are opening or i like are clearly the band but they wait for him to go on stage as like the lead

guitar player um he's a prince of florida okay sorry that was that was him howling let me just show you this is him coming on stage for everybody to see and he's wearing his white doctor's coat just so you know this guy's a fucking doctor the band's singing now he's coming up on stage grabbing the guitar got his doctor coat on somebody get me a shot somebody got me a shot that's his catchphrase i also played this venue before i love when i love when like performers be like yo let me get a shot and then nobody gets it's one of the worst feelings i gotta say that's definitely happened to me before it's not a drink I love when performers be like, yo, let me get a shot. And then nobody gets a shot. It's one of the worst feelings, I got to say. That's definitely happened to me before.

It's not a good feeling. I'm going to drink up here. I've done that at some of our live shows. And then I just go to bang. I'm like, hey, please, man. I'll give you cash, man. Would you mind just getting me something really quick? Not a good feeling. That's so funny that you said that.

No, no, no. So here it goes. He's going to just let everybody know. He picked up the guitar as if he was going to. He realized, I got to take my coat off. Welcome back to the fish house. Welcome back to the fish house. Taking off his white coat to reveal

a bad jean jacket underneath. They appear to be in an equipment shed on the roof of a condo. Beautiful. In like a marina somewhere. This is where you watch live performance. Okay, here we go.

He's got interesting two-tone bell bottoms on that are black and red leather. He's so fucking cool. Come on, doctor. He looks like he drinks Bud Light. What? Oh, okay. Look, he doesn't even... His guitar

isn't even turned up. Oh, no. There you go. Little cowbell. Anyway, so this guy's band is wild. He's got some kind of face paint on. I could play more.

He's like, you know, a five-year-old who did their own makeup as a zombie. Look at this woman who came up to do devil horns. Right in the way. Did you say there's no,

where's all the people who went to go dance? We want to know too, okay? We all want to know. The venue wants to know that exactly you're a good partner for supporting him and his fool's errand of uh you know narcissism but wow jesus christ so yeah anyway this is the pace we're at uh with the people entering public office you know just people it's either like you got an axe to grind or you got followers to gain

or a shitty band to promote or maybe fucking all three yeah so what better place to do that than you know beautiful the right is getting good at rock and roll and the liberals are scared yeah i am i was really scared watching that i was like oh that's scary sheer power those pants too i love it's just like you can tell when people they have this like fantasy image of like this alter ego they may have. And it has zero swag either. Yeah. Yeah.

Like some people, you'll be surprised. You're like, damn, I didn't know you had that in you. Like that shit was kind of cool. Shout out to cool Keith. Yeah. Talking about an alter ego. Yeah. A few of them.

Like, you know, you got that Doc Ock in you. But, like, this guy purely is, like, was raised on, like, hair metal videos. But also, like, his hate-filled heart doesn't know, like, to open it to be, like, other, I don't know, to, like, more creative pursuits. He's like, I'll wear leather red pants, a jean jacket, and I'll smear makeup on my cheeks. Put my doctor's white jacket, white coat on top of it teen fantasy yeah yeah yeah and yeah like he got up there during the band like as the band was playing a different song and just like interrupted them and held up his guitar and was like somebody get me a shot like which is like i you can tell was like in his teenage rock star fantasy. Yeah.

But then like there's two minutes of awkward like tuning his guitar. Cuts off ruins the other people's song. And then is just like complete end of any momentum that was being built. I'm also now realizing it was probably his wife that came up. Like got all those tickets. Like she's like, I just don't. I'm also now realizing it was probably his wife that came up, like got, got all those tickets. Like, she's like,

I just don't, I'm tired of this. It's got to end. You know what I mean? She's like, I can't do this anymore. And it wasn't the liberals that were getting him canceled. It was his wife.

Like you need to come home. Her wife and daughter. A woman comes up in the middle of a show, of the show, stands directly in front of the camera by herself, completely empty, no signs of a crowd, like in the sound or any like energy and

then she just goes up and starts doing like devil horns and it's where's the crowd where's the crowd this rock's so hard the liberals stopped my crowd from coming right exactly but it's why you can hear it from the ambient noise like There's five people there. That's it. There's five people there that I can hear. Victor said he wished he was there. And I gotta say, that is the type of shit I like to see live. That is my favorite thing about going to a bar, like a local bar, and they're like, there's live

music. I'm like, oh, I'm staying for this. I gotta know what's going on here tonight. That's my favorite shit because that's exactly what you see is that shit right there. Just like wander in there. Oh, yeah. I always got a good deal on drinks. I got good fries.

Whenever you have an opportunity to see live music in a small local bar, especially if you're traveling, please watch. You will be entertained. It's not what they want to entertain you with. It's just that you will be like, this is a character character this is some shit that they make characters on tv with these people are insane these people they give us the the joy like these are things that we like to share it's go check out some local music and just bask in the authenticity of some of these people i love a 50 year old band just grown-ass men just won't give up on their dreams. And then their politics get in there and you're just like, oh, this is great.

Usually I will encourage this to give them a different outlet than politics. Yes. Like when old, like didn't Stephen King, like all those like famous authors when they hit their 50s were like, and we're starting a rock band. Yeah. It's like we're starting the most mid rock band in the state of Maine, which is saying a lot. But that's how most of these people are. Like it's like I'm I'm not ashamed that I pursued comedy, you know, like because I'm good at it. And I, you know, you just got to work hard.

Like Ben Shapiro wanted to be a writer, comedian or some shit. And then he failed. So he was like, I'm just going to talk shit online. It's like his next step is what being a band. He already put out a rap song. Yeah. I mean,

like this, it's the, these people are just unsatisfied egos and then they just wreak havoc because they, they, they're just not satisfied. Yeah. Yeah.

I feel like he became a doctor because he had that vision in his mind of going up on stage and saying, somebody get me a shot at a bar. Wow. Like that. While wearing a doctor's coat. It's all been building up to that. You think he's jealous of Ken Jeong for actually being a successful entertainer after being a doctor? He hates Ken Jeong. Because you know what?

He was probably doing shit as stand-up comedian dr joel oh that's true and he's like wait there's a guy named dr ken who the fuck's this guy they're like dude he's killing it man he's fucking killing it he's like fuck he's got i guess i'm gonna learn guitar woke yeah all right well i'm glad i saw that, I think. Let's take a quick break. We'll be right back. I'm Jess Casavetto, executive producer of the hit Netflix documentary series, Dancing for the Devil, the 7M TikTok cult. And I'm Clea Gray, former member of 7M Films and Shekinah Church.

And we're the host of the new podcast, Forgive Me For I Have Followed. Together, we'll be diving even deeper into the unbelievable stories behind 7M Films and LA-based Shekinah Church, an alleged cult that has impacted members for over two decades. Jessica and I will delve into the hidden truths between high control groups and interview dancers, church members, and others whose lives and careers have been impacted, just like mine. Through powerful, in-depth interviews with former members and new, chilling firsthand accounts, the series will illuminate untold and extremely necessary perspectives. Forgive Me For I Have Followed will be more than an exploration. It's a vital revelation aimed at ensuring these types of abuses never happen again. Listen to Forgive Me For I Have Followed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, I'm Gianna Pradente. And I'm Jemay Jackson-Gadsden. We're the hosts of Let's Talk Offline, a new podcast from LinkedIn News and iHeart Podcasts. When you're just starting out in your career, you have a lot of questions, like how do I speak up when I'm feeling overwhelmed? Or can I negotiate a higher salary if this is my first real job? Girl, yes. Each week, we answer your unfiltered work questions.

Think of us as your work besties you can turn to for advice. And if we don't know the answer, we bring in experts who do, like resume specialist Morgan Saner. The only difference between the person who doesn't get the job and the person who gets the job is usually who applies. Yeah, I think a lot about that quote, what is it, like you miss 100% of the shots you never take? Yeah, rejection is scary, but it's better than you rejecting yourself. Together, we'll share what it really takes to thrive in the early years of your career

without sacrificing your sanity or sleep. Listen to Let's Talk Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports, where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Every great player needs a foil.

I ain't really near them. Why is that? I just come here to play basketball every single day, and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically Black. I love her. What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game?

And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better. This new season will cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. And we're back. And there was a whole Atlantic magazine that was like, if Trump wins,

but like, I didn't see like any of those stories, like really breaking through or capturing people's imagination. It just feels like people are kind of exhausted by him at this point, which is something that we talked about, like in the very early days of this podcast, like of the Trump administration, the idea that, you know, the Nazis first came to power, they were front page or just like when they first existed, rather, you know, they were front page news. It was a national scandal, an international scandal. By the time that they came to power, they were people were just like exhausted by it and tired of like reading about them and like just people you know it's the bannon

strategy of flooding the zone with shit and you just become kind of inert to it so i'm just curious like to hear your thoughts generally on like what you think a world looks like with these groups preparing the way they are and, like, kind of changing their changing how open they are. Like, if Trump wins, I feel like they become a lot less scared of prosecution and, like, things go in a different direction, right? things go in a different direction, right? Yeah. I mean, in my mind, a Trump win would probably also accompany a bunch of smaller, same election wins for Republicans. And I think that that would end up, I can see it being almost like, you know how Twitter was and how Twitter slash X is now, where it's like, you go online and like, I saw the heading online in my feed yesterday, and it was just like that's just around now and that was just part of your everyday normal i can see it being like you walk

around your your city and you see like a white price sticker and a stop sign and that's just like part of the landscape of where you live and it being essentially laws are passed that are that are you know regressive and bigoted and i could see it being like you know i i think i'm thinking more in the sense that it would feel just generally unsafe but then also would have the caveat of being like and you would feel like get tired tired and like it's normal and like it sucks you don't like it but like it's a bunch of title instances that go about your day not one big guy yelling at you or fighting with you what are you gonna't like it but like it's a bunch of title instances that go about your day not one big guy yelling at you or fighting with you what are you gonna do about it and i could see that being like

a you know every school board meeting is now some weird right right ring scream about how trans kids are ruining everything and that's every school board meeting now and there's not a lot of ways to like counteract that or like to make that stop right Right. I'm like, you know, cause we just, we're in an election year and it feels like every time shit just gets worse and worse. Like the technology gets better for bad faith actors, the potential for violence increases. And I think a lot of people will probably hear like, okay, so there's not going to be no J6 2.0 and probably be like, oh, okay, great. Nothing to worry about. Like they realize they've been fully dissuaded from trying that shit again. No need

to be vigilant about anything. But, you know, like I said, we've had Jared on the show too. And we were talking about like white nationalism 2.0 and the rise of like active clubs and things like that. Aside from like sort of those groups and how they've sort of just like shifted or what, however, they're going to participate in this upcoming year or next few years, what can, what do you think people can expect to see from these right-wing groups in terms of what sort of activities they feel like they're invested in, in terms of like the buildup to the election? Yeah. I mean, I prepare for a lot of ads, a lot of very gross, disgusting ads in your YouTube and your Spotify and your everything. I would also say that, at least from my perspective, viral content and like, and like just changes of language.

I mean, like people use Red Pill in Sally style language as on the regular, even if you aren't in the community now. It's just now part of the language of being online right and i think that expecting feeling a weird like right wing ideology shift i mean like this whole i mean i'm seeing a lot of trad wife content a lot of a lot of white supremacists like word usage or or meme templates i mean that's only going to get more and more frequent. Feeling like everyone in your feed is constantly has some weird, disgusting worldview where everyone's out for themselves and the outsiders and the freaks are trying to ruin your life. And like, that's what's going to feel like it's a constant messaging wherever you go. And people

are very much invested in making it feel like you should be scared all the time. The fact that you're upset and that things are going well for you is somebody else's fault that you should specifically blame. And solutions that aren't that or more nuanced in-depth conversations are probably going to feel less like a part of your daily conversations. So like, right, that's a lot of it is now just sort of shifting to what can we create energetically as an environment for people to operate in and then hopefully that will nudge people in the right direction or just dissuade them from doing anything at all that's um yeah um yeah so grim especially now when you look at just like the

the rise of like ai shit and that like all this deep fake stuff that's happening that can already like, I mean, we're already seeing it shit is scary to also the way companies are using it is kind of ham-fisted and not that impressive at this point. But just generally, I know my job has gotten harder when it comes to being able to find reputable information on the internet. I can only imagine what it's like in the trenches as you are trying to track trends and things like that. How much of that is the new technologies that are advancing? How much of

that is that the companies have completely given up on reining it in at all? And just, yeah, I'm curious to hear your overall thoughts on the state of the union when it comes to disinformation online yeah i mean when i was when i was doing work in 2020 it i'm i marveled to my co-workers about like like wow people on the right spend so much time doing illustrations and making like interesting meme and art to like just flood these systems and i would like reverse image search constantly because there's always new things being made with ai i feel like that's only getting more frequent and worse especially with disinformation i mean when i'm doing what i'm doing reports on the on the daily for my job i have to generally

go back and back to have to see how people are saying this what's actually happening and find that information now especially if it's a smaller local story that doesn't have a bunch of news like news outlets on it is so difficult to like see is what they're saying true or not i don't want to just like write them off completely as being like everything is a lie and like i want to actually do my research but if there's not a local news article about it or someone or like a reputable source like trying to figure out something is true that they're saying, I'm like, they're saying it. I don't necessarily believe them, but there's nowhere else to look to find different information. but like having reliable fact check especially for things that are more local or that are smaller scale is like you're only getting the right wing narrative of any event and to find the truth or like the non-biased thing is just so difficult and i don't i don't know how that's changing how

people perceive current events or local events or just like regular takes on everyday life if they're only seeing one side and like even if they don't like that person like that opinion there's no other opinion or other side to look at to balance it out and define the truth in the middle yeah why why do you think these big social media companies gave up so completely like it seems like this would be a time when you would be able to make a name for yourself by being the one place that actually tries to fact check. On the other hand, it was already an extremely difficult task to fact check all the misinformation. And now it's getting more difficult.

Is it just kind of that combination? because we've also talked about how most corporate entities have like gone away from doing good for from that idea being like you know it was never their main driving impulse but it was like fashionable for a little bit to like have these esg programs and stuff and now it's like a bad word to say that you're investing in those things like where do you think that kind of giving up came from i think there are like a few things one of the first things i'm thinking is that like i remember when they started to do kind of disinformation countering and start to do those efforts they got a lot of pushback from actual republicans in congress because they'd be like my statement is getting fact-checked

and flat if it isn't true. And it's like, when you start to objectively go about what is true information or not, A, a real person has to basically go through every single thing. If someone doesn't get a joke or doesn't understand that there's a satire,

that person gets caught in the middle of it. But then also people who are making inflammatory rhetoric, then who are elected officials also get caught in the middle of it. But then also people who are making inflammatory rhetoric then who are elected officials also get caught in that. And then it starts looking to Republicans mostly that this platform is being biased because it's censoring Republicans. Now, the really big narrative for a long time

was that social media companies are censoring the right because you put something up that's like COVID, the COVID-19 vaccine causes autism and then you get flagged. And it's like covid the covid19 uh vaccine causes autism and then you get flagged and it's like well then of course you're going to get flagged but then if if that happens in a weird bias scatagram then like you think that that's a negative or like it's a targeted harassment campaign from the social media company also the fact that rage clicks make money um people engage with things when it makes you mad and so there's not really a financial benefit of having that not be there and also like yeah real

people have to go through and moderate spaces i spend a lot of time submitting posts for moderation or flagging posts or reporting posts because it's like this person missed this and it's like a lot i mean especially twitter slash, they cut down their moderation team basically zero. And Facebook already doesn't really have a super big one that's always on the clock. So it's like you're asking a team of 15 people to monitor the and setting stronger, more specific guidelines and then also adhering to those guidelines. Even if the person that they're adhering to brings in a lot of traffic and money to the platform, it's like there's not a ton of upfront incentive. That's the stuff that's always been true. It's just, again, like the public. They just got tired of resisting the main impulse of capitalism to be like yeah no you can do that it's not profitable and you'll get fired for doing it but yeah no go ahead it's great that looks great on you after a while the forces just kind of wear you down

yeah exactly well then also just how much we've seen how much conservatives have just worn even the media down to be like how dare you yeah fact check the words i say you're trying to silence me and like there's no they're like fuck man i don't we don't have the will to push back or we're not getting the directive from the people high up to push back so it's just kind of like okay i guess we'll just please appease them and and then you, you end up in this sort of place where it's like too much of a hassle to follow through on those kinds of things. And it's kind of like, it's a little unsettling, Sabine, right? Because with everything you're saying, it's like, you know, they're, they're not the fucking platforms aren't going to do anything. They're fucking

just doing their own thing, putting out their own own news that is going to be the first point of contact for a lot of people if they're looking at like one of these stories or manufactured sort of scandals or whatever it what is the role that normal people can play in sort of countering this like not to say that like now you need to get on your moderation shit and start like hopping in these spaces but like what what is like like what are the sort of steps because i feel like all the time you hear about like a project 2025 or like these other things are like what what the fuck like i mean not that this is specifically to that but you're like what do what is the left doing anything about project 2025 not that i can see but for regular people who

are witnessing this kind of evolution i'm sure many people already live in areas where they are seeing like white pride stickers or they're getting fucking kkk nazi shit thrown in their driveway in a ziploc bag filled with rocks and stuff like that what is what is the response or what is the what kind of networks of people or can be created or things can be done to sort of counter that? Yeah, I mean, so online particularly, because most of my expertise, there are already some forms of practice that I think I would endorse. I know people are like, hey, when you're dunking on someone screenshot and then do the dumps, they don't get the engagement. If your tweet goes viral, there's also just i guess not encouraging behavior maybe like

we're not dunking at all if you can help it if you see a tweet or you see a headline take the extra time to see if it's actually true before you before you share it before you then again make outrage bait a lot of a lot of particularly right-wing accounts make their money and get their influence from being inflammatory and triggering the instinct in you to get mess that you know isn't right or that you know isn't true. And taking the time to step back, think about, is it worth it to engage? Is it worth it? If it really is a narrative you want to counter counter screenshot it and talk about it on your own thing

so they don't get the engagement or and make sure you can like double check fact check whatever you're sharing like and not just doing an immediate emotional share offline i would say that at least for me there are times people in my community have heard stuff or said stuff or like kids will come home and say anything that they've heard at school and like it all feels in the moment like a one-off instance of someone being shitty and like it honestly it it can be more than that and it can foster environment because like that's okay and so like not letting those things slide or let lie or kind of just brushing them off i know like in my hometown my parents were walking by a school, someone had changed it to say a bunch of slurs and like pro-Nazi stuff when everyone was on vacation. We took a picture

of it, put it in the county Facebook group and said, hey, this isn't cool. We need to talk about this. We had a conversation about talking to your kids. If you have teenagers or anything in the area, make sure you're talking about what is or is not appropriate to do and what is it's not true about minority groups definitely that you can do to kind of like not just let it be a shitty thing that you saw and then now have to i guess ignore brush right right i know also my my company's isd has a program called strong cities network where they they do de-radicalization programming, trainings and classes for city officials, for local officials, for community members about what you can do to foster an environment where extremism doesn't feel welcome or safe in your area. There are, I think, already existing anti-hate groups that are either national or

that could be in your state. I know that Virginia, where I live, certainly has some. And seeking out those groups and participating is also great to feel like you're doing something, you're getting involved. Right. Yeah, I think it's also, I mean, it's kind of a really interesting point, too, where it's like so much of the engagement that these inflammatory accounts get is purely because of the reaction from people on the other end of the spectrum. And it's like, sort of like, it's that easy for them. It's like, dude, all you gotta do is just say this. And then it, it blows up. Really funny people dunk on you and then their content becomes your content. Yeah, right. Exactly. And then it's like, sort of like, yeah, I mean, one of the biggest ways to sort of like pull the rug out from under them is to also like, to your point is like, if you're

going to talk about it, maybe don't share the handle or just take the screenshot so that that actual individual post isn't getting the sort of engagement that they need to feed the algorithm that's it kind of blows my mind it's like just remember a lot of this shit while it is upsetting it's the intent is for you to interact with it so the message goes further and wider and that's like just such a super subtle thing that, yeah, to think about how it's like, yeah, it's kind of like a Rube Goldberg machine, but it's just kind of like, yeah, man, I'll get to this one thing and it can do. Next thing you know, it's setting off all kinds of alarm bells.

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