The decentralized nature of modern conspiracy communities is something that wouldn't be possible without social media - any any exploration of conspiracy culture has to grapple with how social media amplifies the dumbest voices in society.

Trump's approach to geopolitics uses essentially the same logic as the Underpants Gnomes: Step one: Bomb Iran Step two: ???? Step three: The region is peaceful and democratic

I'm back in The Dispatch today, arguing that progressive institutions have leaned so hard into inclusivity they've actually started excluding people, and are so afraid of being mean they harm more people than they help.

One of the most interesting ways to see the true 'center' of social media was this graph of meme origins from KnowYourMeme. YouTube + 4chan dominated early internet culture, Tumblr had a few influential years, then Twitter was the center of everything until the rise of TikTok.

The rise of looksmaxxing memes and drama is effectively social media creating a decentralized, distributed form of soap opera/pro wrestling.

How do we build meaning in a world where AI does most of our thinking for us? Are we going to become the parrots?

They're coming up with new and advanced forms of NIMBYism in Europe you couldn't even imagine

Feels like there are symbolic links between Clavicular, who is a facially attractive 'looksmaxxer' but is so awkward and devoid of personality that he repulses most people, and modern right wing politics, which cares about creatin spectacle on social media rather than actually accomplishing anything

This from @jeremiahdjohns.bsky.social is correct. The End of History is a great book.

Why is the Department of War posting Clavicular memes? Why did Will Stancil get punched? And what does it have to do with the increasingly strong filter bubbles we're trapped in? www.infinitescroll.us/p/the-jester...

Mr Beast lined up one person from each age 1-100 and had them race to a finish line, and the overhead camera is an oddly beautiful data visualization of speed by age.

Is YouTube redistributing views from top YouTubers to less popular ones? Is Khaby Lame's 9-figure brand deal a scam? It's the Weekly Scroll: www.infinitescroll.us/p/weekly-scr...

Why is ICE focused so heavily on Minnesota - which is not a hotbed of illegal immigrants? Because the people in charge were, above all else, obsessed with creating content. And that attitude starts with the White House.

Thanks for the dispatch this week, @jeremiahdjohns.bsky.social Standing on business, CNL has the best podcast host hands down!! 😤 thedispatch.com/article/rene...

Wondering what insane things are happening over on the other site? Go vote on the worst tweets from 2025! x.com/JeremiahDJoh...

It's almost that time of year... Vote on which tweets will make the final bracket in the Worst Tweets of 2025 competition: www.infinitescroll.us/p/worst-twee...

A surprising bit of advice for parents: You should actually give your kids a tablet as young as 3-4 years old. www.infinitescroll.us/p/how-to-tea...

Last week I read The Sirens' Call from @chrislhayes.bsky.social. It made me think about the relationships between social media platforms, attention, and choice, and how much of our lives we unconsciously surrender to algorithms.

The line between being an influencer and a journalist has never been thinner. Are we all suffering for it?

Why does Taylor Lorenz constantly find herself in the center of online drama? It's because she can't separate her job as a journalist with her desire to be an influencer.

When Facebook started, Zuckerberg talked about how his goal was to build human connections. Now Meta optimizes their apps to maximize the amount of time you spend scrolling Reels, alone. Is there anything still social about social media? www.infinitescroll.us/p/social-med...

Gavin Newsom is trying to answer two very simple questions: Does anyone hate Republicans as much as he does? And can trolling propel a Democrat to the presidency?

🎙️ Just dropped a fascinating podcast episode with @jeremiahdjohns.bsky.social , co-founder of the Center for New Liberalism! We covered everything from political hobbyism to why social media culture keeps melting our brains. Have a listen: open.spotify.com/episode/0ieB...

There’s nothing in right wing politics more important than pissing off the liberals. And if the liberals aren’t mad enough, the outrage machine will manufacture angry liberals out of thin air. www.infinitescroll.us/p/in-search-...

It's been funny to watch the Coldplay CEO scandal develop, but the punishment - the sheer scale of being ritually humiliated by the entire internet - doesn't fit the crime. www.infinitescroll.us/p/weekly-scr...

There isn't going to be a 'client list' and Epstein almost certainly killed himself.

An update on our friends over at X

There seem to be two camps in the GOP right now - those who are embarrassed by what’s in the big Republican bill (but voted for it anyways), and those who just want to make gleeful hype video about alligators eating immigrants. www.infinitescroll.us/p/weekly-scr...

Check out my podcast episode with liberal political writer @jeremiahdjohns.bsky.social about topics he doesn’t usually cover: dating, marriage and gender! www.cartoonshateher.com/p/podcast-je...

Why is every social media site more and more dominated by shortform vertical video? And what does any of that have to do with crabs? www.infinitescroll.us/p/the-carcin...

This edition of the Weekly Scroll is frankly, incredible: * Bill Maher loses a war with a Stick Account * The sad saga of Tiny Chef * Serious developments in AI copyright law * Why is Substack so liberal-coded? * YouTube's slop problems And more! www.infinitescroll.us/p/weekly-scr...

The New Liberal Action Summit is back for our fourth year! We're bringing together center-left members of congress, thinkers, activists and leaders to revitalize liberalism in America. Scholarships are available for those who want to attend! cnliberalism.org/nlas

The Internet was a different places in the mid 2000s - more anarchic and chaotic, less dominated by platforms, and generally weirder and freer. What was virality like in the age before capital-C Content dominated the web? www.infinitescroll.us/p/videos-bef...

Nobody in left-of-center politics can shut up about the book Abundance. But what are we really fighting about when we fight about Abundance? www.infinitescroll.us/p/fighting-a...

Some thoughts on the Menswear Guy, ICE protests, and our inability to be normal www.infinitescroll.us/p/can-anyone...

I wrote a post about an issue I’ve been thinking over for a while: How does Russian propaganda work? Not the propaganda they aim at the West, but what they aim at their own citizens. How is Russia creating a new cohort of fascists in their youngest generations? www.infinitescroll.us/p/z-generati...

I'm sorry, but we have to stop calling everything slop www.infinitescroll.us/p/stop-calli...

This week's Weekly Scroll: New popes, cooked students, meme wars, and a very good 16th century TMZ www.infinitescroll.us/p/weekly-scr...

It looks like you're a celebrity embroiled in a scandal. Don't worry, the pros are here to help. Just stay away from ukuleles. www.infinitescroll.us/p/crisis-pr-...

The revelation this week of secretive right wing group chats filled with billionaires & media moguls is the culmination of a long running trend: important conversations are moving away from global social media platforms and into private or semi-private spaces. www.infinitescroll.us/p/weekly-scr...

Older books are selling, newer ones aren’t. Old Music is all the rage, newer artists can barely get played. Older video games and old movie franchises suck up all the attention. Old art is strangling new art www.infinitescroll.us/p/old-art-is...

AI slop has been a problem on Facebook for years, but it’s starting to become a much bigger problem on YouTube as well. Plus! Kanye's album, vibe shift corrections, and the Dr Pepper Guy - it's the Weekly Scroll www.infinitescroll.us/p/weekly-scr...

Remember: Donald Trump is killing your 401K and eroding the value of the dollar, but on the other hand, he's also causing mortgage rates to skyrocket

I did a great podcast with @jeremiahdjohns.bsky.social all about the Canadian election. Give it a listen! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...

The Globe Emojis are pondering violence, social media is bleeding into traditional media, and the kids are dancing with Le Poisson Steve. It’s the Weekly Scroll: www.infinitescroll.us/p/weekly-scr...

Paying kidney donors would save tens of thousands of lives every year. The End Kidney Deaths Act is in the House right now to do so. We don't have to accept deaths from kidney disease. We know how to save these lives. We just have to take the step. thedispatch.com/article/end-...

Republicans spent years complaining that free speech was under attack. Now Donald Trump is instituting a new Thought Police and they've all gone silent about it. www.infinitescroll.us/p/the-new-ag...

In which I debate myself on whether or not we should ban mobile gambling on smartphones: www.infinitescroll.us/p/should-we-...

Have the tariffs started causing conservative influencers to turn on Trump? www.infinitescroll.us/p/weekly-scr...