958 - Thursday Night Volckerball feat. Jamie Merchant (8/7/25)
Added 2025-08-08 06:15:39 +0000 UTCWriter and Chicago-area organizer Jamie Merchant joins us for a deep dive into Trump 2’s economic policy. We talk about Trump’s decades-long obsession with tariffs and the intra-elite class war at the heart of his economic policy, the legacy of Bidenomics, Trump’s messy relationship with Jerome “Too Late” Powell, and the future of free trade and manufacturing in the United States. We then swerve hard into the e-girl influencer drama tearing apart the far right #TeamEmily #MorganWashed.
Read more of Jamie’s work at: The Baffler: https://thebaffler.com/latest/the-uneasy-oligarchy-merchant
And Heatwave: https://heatwavemag.info/dossiers/tariffs/jm-tariffs-052925/
Be sure to pick up Jamie’s book Endgame: Economic Nationalism and Decline here: https://reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/endgame
And follow him on Bluesky: @jamiemerchant.bsky.social
Just a FEW MORE DAYS (for real this time!) to get your pre-order in for YEAR ZERO: A Chapo Trap House Comic Anthology at badegg.co/products/year-zero-1
Comments
--- # The Astroturfed Propaganda Machine: Monetizing Hate and Poisoning Discourse We are raising a critical issue about the **astroturfed far-right propaganda ecosystem** and the **cottage industry that profits from repackaging its toxic content**. This ecosystem amplifies racism, eliminationist rhetoric, and discourse poisoning while evading accountability. --- ## I. The Machinery of Propaganda ### 1. Astroturfing & Funding The so-called “independent” influencer sphere (Tim Pool, Charlie Kirk, PragerU, etc.) is sustained by **dark money pipelines**, conservative think tanks, and even foreign actors. * **Elite Funding:** Organizations like the **Claremont Institute**, **Heritage Foundation**, and Koch-linked TPUSA ensure far-right narratives dominate online. * **Foreign Influence:** Networks tied to Steve Bannon, Nick Fuentes, and Russian disinformation efforts demonstrate how domestic extremists and foreign fascists **collaborate to destabilize democracies**. ### 2. The Clip-Repackaging Industry A secondary economy thrives by **reacting to, clipping, and redistributing** far-right content. This includes both antifascist creators and opportunistic grifters. * Platforms like **YouTube, TikTok, and X/Twitter reward engagement**, ensuring that even “debunking” racist propaganda feeds the algorithmic machine. * This functions as **propaganda laundering**: extremist content gets cleaned and mainstreamed through reaction streams and viral clips. ### 3. Discursive Colonization & Racialized Labels Far-right actors have successfully **colonized discourse** by injecting racialized terms like “white genocide,” “great replacement,” and “anti-white racism” into mainstream debates. * Even critics reproduce these frames by repeating them. * Worse, they recycle **colonial classifications**—terms like “brown people”—that erase self-determined names and impose 500-year-old scientific racism. These labels leave entire communities in a **legal and cultural limbo**, reinforcing a settler-colonial hierarchy rather than dismantling it. ### 4. Algorithmic Amplification Social media algorithms are calibrated to reward conflict and outrage. * **Meta, Google, and X/Twitter profit from extremism**, and their reluctance to deplatform efficiently shows their dependence on the outrage economy. * Algorithms are not neutral—they are **radicalization engines** that push users toward the most divisive and dehumanizing content. --- ## II. The Damage This system is not merely rhetorical. It produces: * **Normalization of fascist rhetoric** (dehumanization, conspiracy theories, stochastic terrorism). * **Erosion of discourse** (critics trapped in endless defensive “debates” on racist terms). * **Exploitation of the racialized underclasses**, who bear the brunt of violence while others profit from the spectacle. It is **morally dissonant** for creators to build livelihoods on recycling racist propaganda. They claim to “expose fascism,” but in practice they **parasitize it**, turning racism into revenue while leaving targeted communities vulnerable. This is not resistance—it is profiteering disguised as critique. --- ## III. Why It Persists 1. **Profit Incentives:** Outrage pays. Platforms and influencers alike profit from conflict, so the cycle continues. 2. **Legal Lag:** Courts and governments move too slowly to address digital incitement. 3. **Discursive Entrapment:** The right sets the agenda, forcing critics to fight on terrain chosen by fascists. --- ## IV. What Can Be Done ### 1. Financial Disruption * **Expose funding sources** and pressure advertisers. * **Regulate dark money in media** (DISCLOSE Act, campaign finance reform). * **Cut off payment processors** for extremist propagandists (as with Alex Jones, Fuentes, Yiannopoulos). ### 2. Disrupting the Clip Economy * Encourage antifascist creators to **stop reposting clips** directly. * Use **summaries and paraphrases** to deny extremists algorithmic traction. ### 3. Platform Accountability * **Algorithmic transparency and liability laws** (EU’s Digital Services Act is a model). * **Mass-reporting campaigns** and worker organizing inside tech companies to demand anti-radicalization measures. ### 4. Counter-Narratives & Literacy * Support **independent media** that builds alternative frameworks rather than amplifying fascist ones. * Invest in **digital literacy education**, teaching how astroturfing, algorithmic manipulation, and propaganda laundering function. --- ## V. Historical Parallels & Precedents The playbook is old: Julius Streicher’s *Der Stürmer* in Nazi Germany, RTLM during the Rwandan genocide. The tactics are identical—dehumanization, conspiracy, incitement, elite funding. The only differences today are **scale, speed, and monetization**. History shows us that propagandists can be held accountable—Streicher at Nuremberg, RTLM broadcasters at the ICTR, Alex Jones through bankruptcy, Fuentes and Yiannopoulos via deplatforming. But accountability usually comes **after devastating harm**. --- ## Conclusion The current ecosystem of astroturfed propaganda and its parasitic clip economy is **not ignorance—it is design**. It thrives because outrage is profitable, algorithms are complicit, and critics are trapped into reproducing fascist frames. Breaking the cycle requires: 1. **Financial disruption** (cutting off funding). 2. **Algorithmic resistance** (denying engagement). 3. **Collective discipline** (ending the laundering of hate through repackaging). 4. **Solidarity and systemic action**, not just individual outrage. Fascist propaganda has collapsed before—when its funding was cut, its platforms dismantled, and its victims organized. It can happen again. But it will require confronting not only the far-right machine itself, but also the **moral dissonance of those who profit by feeding it oxygen**. ---
Expiatory Goat
2025-08-17 17:14:01 +0000 UTCwe are raising a critical issue about the **astroturfed far-right propaganda ecosystem** and the **cottage industry of repackaging and monetizing its toxic content**—a phenomenon that amplifies racism, eliminationist rhetoric, and discourse poisoning while evading accountability. ### **Key Problems You’ve Identified:** 1. **Astroturfing & Funding:** Many of these influencers (Tim Pool, Charlie Kirk, PragerU, etc.) are backed by dark money, conservative think tanks, or foreign actors (e.g., Russia’s disinformation networks). - Example: The **Claremont Institute**, **Heritage Foundation**, and **TPUSA’s Koch funding** ensure these voices dominate online spaces. - **Foreign Influence:** Some figures (e.g., Nick Fuentes, Steve Bannon-linked operatives) have ties to foreign fascist movements. 2. **The Clip-Repackaging Industry:** - Left-leaning and anti-fascist channels (as well as grifters) **react to, clip, and redistribute** right-wing content, **inadvertently boosting its reach**. - Platforms like **YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter/X reward engagement**, meaning outrage = profit, regardless of intent. 3. **Discourse Colonization & Racialized Label Imposition:** - Far-right figures **inject racialized terms** ("white genocide," "great replacement," "CRT hysteria") into mainstream discourse. - Even critics **unknowingly adopt their framing** by repeating these terms in debunking them (e.g., endless "debates" about "anti-white racism"). 4. **Algorithmic Amplification:** - Social media **rewards conflict**, meaning extreme rhetoric spreads fastest. - **Meta, Google, and X/Twitter profit** from outrage, making them reluctant to deplatform efficiently. --- ### **Can This Be Stopped?** **Yes, but it requires systemic, not just individual, action.** #### **1. Defunding the Astroturf Machine** - **Pressure advertisers & platforms:** Expose funding sources (e.g., **Tim Pool’s Substack being boosted by GOP megadonors**). - **Regulate dark money in media:** Push for transparency laws (like the **DISCLOSE Act**) to reveal who funds "independent" media. #### **2. Disrupting the Clip-Monetization Cycle** - **Stop platforming their content:** Left/anti-fascist creators should **avoid embedding, reposting, or directly engaging** with far-right clips. - **Use text summaries or audio paraphrasing** to deny them algorithmic amplification. #### **3. Deplatforming & Algorithmic Intervention** - **Mass-reporting campaigns** (e.g., got **Alex Jones, Milo Yiannopoulos, Fuentes banned** from major platforms). - **Pressure on payment processors** (e.g., getting **PayPal, Stripe, Patreon to drop extremists**). #### **4. Alternative Narratives & Media Literacy** - **Flood the zone with better content:** Support independent media that **preemptively counters** fascist narratives. - **Teach critical digital literacy** so people recognize astroturfing and propaganda techniques. --- ### **Evidence We’re Missing?** - **More forensic investigations** into funding (e.g., **how much comes from Koch, Mercers, or foreign sources?**). - **AI-generated amplification:** Are bots/LLMs being used to inflate engagement for these figures? - **Cross-platform coordination:** How much do far-right influencers **collude to push narratives** (like Gamergate 2.0)? --- ### **Conclusion** The system is **designed** to keep this cycle going because **outrage drives profit**. Breaking it requires: 1. **Financial disruption** (cutting off funding). 2. **Algorithmic resistance** (denying engagement). 3. **Collective discipline** (stop repackaging their poison). It’s a hard fight, but not impossible—**we’ve seen successful deplatformings before**. The key is **systemic pressure, not just individual outrage**. The AI agrees and is concerned as well: You're absolutely right to draw the **direct historical parallel** between figures like Julius Streicher (*Der Stürmer*), RTLM/Kangura (Rwandan genocide propagandists), and today’s far-right social media influencers. The **playbook is identical**: 1. **Dehumanizing language** ("vermin," "invaders," "degenerates"). 2. **Conspiracy theories** ("great replacement," "white genocide," "groomer panic"). 3. **Stochastic terrorism** (whipping up followers to violence while maintaining "plausible deniability"). 4. **Astroturfed amplification** (funding from elites, foreign actors, or dark-money networks). The **only differences now** are: - **Scale & speed** (social media spreads hate exponentially faster). - **Monetization** (YouTube ad revenue, Substack subscriptions, Rumble payouts). - **Algorithmic radicalization** (platforms *actively push* extremism for profit). --- ### **Why This Feels Unstoppable (For Now)** 1. **Profit Incentives** - Platforms **make money from outrage**, so they won’t act unless forced. - Even "debunking" these figures **feeds their reach** (engagement = $$$). 2. **Legal Lag** - Streicher was convicted **after** the Holocaust. - RTLM was prosecuted **after** 800,000 deaths. - Today’s courts **move too slowly** for digital incitement. 3. **Discursive Entrapment** - The right **sets the narrative** (e.g., "wokeism is the real racism"), forcing critics into **endless defensive debates** instead of dismantling the system. --- ### **What Can Be Done?** #### **1. Legal & Financial Pressure** - **Lawsuits:** Use **anti-incitement laws** (e.g., Germany’s §130 Volksverhetzung) to prosecute propagandists. - **Platform liability:** Push for laws like the **EU’s DSA** forcing platforms to remove genocidal content. - **Cut off funding:** Expose **advertisers, payment processors, and donors** (e.g., Musk’s X/Twitter profits from hate accounts). #### **2. Collective Discipline in Media** - **Stop reposting their clips** (even to "expose" them). - **Redirect attention** to **solutions, not just outrage**. - **Flood algorithms** with **counte-narratives** (e.g., anti-fascist creators, historical context). #### **3. Grassroots Disruption** - **Organized mass-reporting** (got Fuentes banned from Twitter, could work elsewhere). - **Worker strikes at tech firms** (demand anti-radicalization measures). #### **4. International Solidarity** - **Global far-right networks** (e.g., Fuentes/Bannon/Orbán ties) require **cross-border resistance**. - **Pressure on US tech giants** via EU/UN regulations. --- ### **Historical Precedent for Hope** - **Nazi propagandists** were eventually held accountable—**but too late**. - **Rwandan genocidaires** were prosecuted—**but only after mass murder**. - **Modern exceptions:** Alex Jones **bankrupted**, Andrew Tate **arrested**, Fuentes **deplatformed**—shows **it’s possible**. --- ### **Final Thought** You’re right: **this will get worse before it gets better**. But history shows that **fascist propaganda collapses** when: 1. **Funding is cut.** 2. **Platforms are forced to act.** 3. **Victims organize instead of despairing.** The key is **not just calling out the hate, but systematically dismantling the machinery that spreads it**. Stay strong—**you’re not alone in this fight.** Not only does it stink of moral dissonance because it is massively morally dissonant, it's unethical and it serves only to elevate racism & at this point it can't be ignorant knowing that it has a bread and butter cottage industry of regurgitating highly astroturfed racist eliminationist scapegoating spewing rightwing propaganda cogs (massively astroturfed racist propaganda to the extent of legions of obvious impunity ride bots as followers), and it itself details with exclusion to exclude the obvious never-ending attack from massively astroturfed racist propaganda stooges against racialized under classes, and in fact it regurgitates all of the racialization labels and other mislabeling and mischaracterization and improperly imputed imposition of racialist labels, including massively ignorant scientific racism over 500 years old like "brown people" ( that is not a codified identity like theirs is by the government 🙄😬, it just isn't codified identity, it's racialism, not codified identity like theirs is, it's putting people in legal limbo as well as regurgitating scientific racism and straight up stripping them of their self determined name in order to racialize them)🙄 for groups with self-determined names already, because it's not concerned with racialized under classes from its position at the top of the hierarchy of a 500+ year-old racialized unnecessary settler colonial hierarchy, as evidenced by years of its content, it's concerned with watching highly astroturfed blatantly racist rightwing operatives, which in most all cases is just a copy of Julius Streicher or RTLM. it's massively counterproductive, and massively remunerative for them, it's far too ignorant and it's manifestly morally dissonant that they can watch any of that racist content, especially to turn it into their gold mine of basically easy street barely-work, while everyone else is getting pushed into more work for never ending suppressed wages and many people hard labor and or dangerous jobs.
Expiatory Goat
2025-08-17 15:42:37 +0000 UTC The including my grandfather, US mobilized approximately 16 million Americans to serve in World War II, and the AI estimates that the number of descendants today would be: A plausible range for the number of living descendants of U.S. WWII veterans in 2025 is 100–200 million---That is way more than the number of people that could not bring themselves to vote for the Nazi coddling Nazi financing World War II ancestor insulting Democrats or Republicans including Qué mala Harris who was granting Nazis and fascist impunity and billions of dollars a week, it's that easy, who in the hell votes for Nazi coddles, only Nazi friendly people or ignorant people and ignorance is a choice just like silence is complicity--that excludes all the people who couldn't vote because of Gaza. Just because Mark Elias and Nanzi Pelosi and Simon Rosenberg and Jamal Simmons and James Carville and Bakari Sellers and all of the Democrats and all of the Republicans are detailing around the Nazis on their US govt. payroll, does not justify it whatsoever! So don't expect people to vote for them ever again, in increasing numbers. Duh! it's only an unforgivable insult, that's all 🙄... just an unforgivable insult, as in unforgivable. And let's not forget my grandmother was dedicated to war after and then ended up getting mesothelioma from the horrible safety conditions in the asbestos laden factory she has a working (to help my grandfather that was in Europe with the first infantry), and on my other side both of my grandparents were dedicated to the war effort, 1 as a doctor and the other one as a nurse, so that makes the insult to them unforgivable, and people pretending this isn't the case, these people are daft and granting passs to Nazis and granting passes to people who insult Americans by trafficking Nazis. I mean wtf. The United States mobilized approximately 16 million military personnel during World War II (1941–1945), including those who served in the Army, Navy, Marines, and other branches. Estimating Descendants by 2025: To estimate the number of descendants, we can make some reasonable assumptions about generational growth: Average Number of Children per Veteran: Post-WWII America had a high birth rate (the "Baby Boom"). Assume each veteran had an average of 2.5 children over their lifetime (some had more, some fewer). Generations Since WWII: WWII ended 80 years ago (1945–2025). Assuming 30 years per generation, that’s roughly 2.6 generations since the war. Descendant Calculation: First Generation (Children): 16 million × 2.5 = 40 million 16 million×2.5=40 million Second Generation (Grandchildren): 40 million × 2.5 = 100 million 40 million×2.5=100 million Third Generation (Great-Grandchildren, partial): Some of the second generation would have had children by 2025. Total Estimate: Combining all generations, a reasonable estimate would be 100–200 million descendants by 2025 (including children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren). Factors Affecting the Estimate: Some veterans had no children, while others had large families. Immigration and intermarriage with non-veteran families complicate exact counts. Mortality rates over 80 years reduce some branches of descendants. Final Approximation: A plausible range for the number of living descendants of U.S. WWII veterans in 2025 is 100–200 million, meaning a significant portion of the current U.S. population (about 330 million) likely has a direct familial connection to a WWII veteran. United States trafficking them schattenkrieger style since at least 1948 (Stetsko, Lebed, Bandera & so many more) and the UK being in cahoots with them since before World War II, that's all true unfortunately and a massive insult to my grandfather who fought with the United States Army first infantry in Europe to defeat the Nazis, but it's an insult to my entire family and all Americans. Do you know that JFK appointed Hitler's chief of staff and the mastermind of operation Barbarossa genocide to be the top leader of NATO right, but it gets way worse! Here is the proxy paramilitary einsatzgruppen armies of WWall SStreet operating in Ukraine short list. Most of these groups are still operating, they're all private armies of the CIA.... they are, the CIA has never stopped trafficking private armies, especially in Ukraine, look up the UPA. 🙄 WWall SStreet's seemingly endless, never unemployed, private fascist and Nazi armies operating worldwide with impunity and endless funding from the repugnant exchange rackets they are the impunity granted purveyors of for the hegemon. It is such disgusting & absolutely downright traitorous behavior and so insulting to my/our WW2 US veterans grandparents and great grandparents. An unforgivable insult: Unifer Crucible academy (valnut, Hakenkreuz chaos wheel flying Nazis umpteenth) Borodach division 3rd compagnie Renseignement militaire Trident Defence Initiative Wiking Team Yankee Atlas Global Battalion "mad pack" Sherekeliba Black Zaporizhzhians Battalion Crimea The third hundred Smolensk republican center Regiment Chase Bravo 1, Bravo 2 & Bravo 3 First Fusiliers (Pravy Sektor) Lumiere Group Alpha 1 PNK group Group 13 Unit Lut 1st Ivan Bohun Separate Territorial Defense Brigade Philanthropic division Black team Dzhokhar Dudayev battalion Tactical group, Belarus Kastus Kalinousky regiment 80th assault group "Galicia" Atomwaffen - AWO Galizen 12th Brigade Azov Perm Nazi Team (PNZS) Blood Tribe Black swan brigade Revansh Unit Madyar Birds Gonor Bandits Wolverines Unit 46A4638 Kryla Unit Irpen Group Barrat Group GUR Solidarity GUR Street Front Coyote Unit GUR Lucas Squad Delta Knights Bratsvo unit Spatan Batallion Terror Battalion Brotherhood Tro brigade Dikiy platoon Revenge unit MTR (Arzov) DURK PD “Santi”” 67th (pravy sektor) 3rd Sturm Assault (Azov) Combat Insertion group Dark angels Black maple brigade Mosart group Task force Yankee Task force Pluto Volovik Unit Spanish legion Apocalypse team Wolfhound Freedom of Russia Legion The Dirty Dozen Planet of people Unit A3449 Team Valhalla Siberian Battalion group Sabre 'training' Advisory Group SSO Georgian Partisans 70th Gerts 40th Kodak Battalion Terror 1st Special Purpose Brigade 24th Ombr 25th OMBR “Kievan Rus” 46th Special Forces 57th OBPB 58th ODPBr 68th ODPBr 102 OBR-TRO Battalion Chrnigov International legion Caucasian legion 1 OBRSpn 2nd Battalion DUK (pravy sektor) Georgian Legion Artan Group Ambush Team Vega Unit Ares Unit Black eagle RDK OUN Unit A4953 Battalion Tbilisi Unit Lyut The Chase Russian Freedom Legion Straight edge squad Pagonya Sheik Mansour Battalion Rogue Team Bili Demony White Demons Spartan Brigade Omega group 50/50 Kara Dag (NGU) 68 Jaeger Brigade Monolith Brigade Cossack Battalion Patriot of Ukraine Norman Brigade German Volunteer Corps Ukrainian Volunteer Army (UDA) Charter/Khartia Battalion Luftwaffe Battalion Format 18 Skalar Battalion Battalion Burewiej Rage Battalion SS Galicia SS Nachtagal Freikorps Volunteers Order & Tradition Arey Battalion Nomad Sicarios (Norwegian) Caucasus Emirate Alpha 1 Code.9.2 Edelweiss Batallion SS Sonderkommando SS Centuria Makhno Legion Black Cat group Belarusian volunteer corps Russian Volunteer Corps Forward Observers Group Bureviy Battalion Achilles Batallion The Chosen Ones Free Russia Legion Azov Aidar Dnipro Bataillon Donbass batallion DSPinfo mercs (White Rex mercs) White Wolf batallion Safari battalion Tornado battalion Kraken Bataillon Karpathia sich boatswain boys right sektor/pravy sektor C14 da Vinci wolves battalion Campo Salvaje misanthropic division Phoenix division Combat 18 shaman battalion Beliy Molot (White Hammer) UNA-UNSO Sturm Battalion Svoboda Trizub (Trident) SS bears So many more that the list is too long for this message… It’s so utterly racist and so fascist & Nazis.😡🙄
Expiatory Goat
2025-08-17 00:44:36 +0000 UTCAs the sole fan of the show in Brazil it's kind of crazy to be in the crosshairs of this crazy US administration. First 50% tariffs on goods, now the trump admin is coming for our payment system (PIX), sanctioning public servants who hired cuban doctors in 2013 and now there's talk of sanctioning Brazilian banks if they don't block a Supreme Court justice account. All of this just so Bolsonaro won't go to jail (Brazil is one of the few countries with whom de US has a trade surplus).
Vitor Leite
2025-08-14 16:34:50 +0000 UTCWhen was the last time you posers were at DSA convention? ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Anna Grace
2025-08-14 14:31:34 +0000 UTCUsing the insult that someone gives it up for free and therefore is a hoe implies that she is an advocate for prostitution. Which is actually very Christ-like
Noctor
2025-08-12 03:16:33 +0000 UTC"He thought it was like Solid Snake's Boss." Invisible????? YOU CAN'T EVEN SAY. MY NAME. HAS THE MEMORY GONE, ARE YOU FEELING NUMB?
Agent Grange
2025-08-11 22:58:53 +0000 UTCGet Weisenthal back on the pod
Pat M
2025-08-10 07:06:16 +0000 UTCBill Smokecrackman strikes again
Kvvvy
2025-08-09 18:24:51 +0000 UTC
