Don't Feed The Trolls!
Lots of people stuck on podcaster drama, duopoly distractions and engagement bait
We’ve seen some accounts in media in 2024 who have found their niche: reactionary content, debating the idiot of the month, or engagement farming. They post videos, memes and content designed to upset whole groups into fighting each other in the replies - just to have their amount of comments, likes and reposts go up. A lot of these are copy-pasted “breaking news” of whatever will spark the next culture war viral psyop sensation. Often, you’ll see a screen cap of a headline and photo with no reference or link to where to read the actual article.
This article is a plea to do your own discerning, start asking the hard questions yourself - and fundamentally change your approach to how you engage with others online.
If you feel the need to engage negatively online - and, more importantly, if this account is a frequent offender to you: why should this account or subject matter have access to your eyeballs and mind space? The algorithms are designed to show you MORE of what you engage with. If you spend your time debating the mountain of bots fighting some information war, you’ll just be shown more of the type of content you don’t believe in. You have to make a conscious choice to NOT ENGAGE with that, remove it from your feed, and then like, comment and share what you ACTUALLY want to see and what you want your followers to see.
Twitter (screw you, Elon) specifically is paying blue check subscribers based on this engagement. Growth and reach are king. The number on their payout is dependent on how much attention they can stir up and how many eyeballs they can keep pointed at them. The only way they can measure that is engagement whether that’s just a “view” , a comment & reply, a like, an impression of any kind is what they are looking for. This pushes and incentivizes monetized creators to farm for rage arguments under their posts.
If you’re worried about people not understanding an issue that any of these distractions are getting wrong, you’re welcome to post the resources, information, and media that could help your followers see for themselves who they should (and shouldn’t) engage with. At a time when all of the top truth-telling journalists and pundits consistently getting things right are HEAVILY SUPPRESSED online - wouldn’t your time be better spent sharing their work, and the information they bring to the table?
This is happening on both sides of the aisle; and to those on neither side of the aisle -the wealthy are all paying influencers to control a portion of the narrative.
You can clearly see “the numbers” influencing a lot of content today. Even those well-meaning creators get plenty of false-positives when focusing on any of the distractions. Those posts and videos get boosted by the trending algorithms, and with growth being the motivating factor, patterns are repeated quickly.
Plenty of moral sacrifices are made chasing that growth. They run for office, they get brought on MSM, MAM (Mainstream Alternative Media) or IMSM (“Independent” Mainstream Media) to debate a panel of idiots, consisting of a combination of zionists, warmongers, and corporate bootlickers.
In addition, creators are using keyword-driven tools just to pull more audience for themselves. You see it in their collaborations with influencers and networks that, to anyone with more than goldfish-memory retention, have had issues. If you don’t go on places and work with those who already have reach, you cant be seen. But… These influencers and networks been proven to be untrustworthy, incorrect, down right toxic, paid off, morally and factually fickle, focused on fame, notoriety, sensationalism, book sales and clicks. Why continue to work with them?
All sorts of red flags are ignored or dismissed from these more established figures because they have some credentials and following. Then, you have the “Free Marketplace of Ideas” crowd, who give each other a pass if it suits each creators’ particular needs - because they “have on and talk to people with whom they mostly ‘disagree’”. Those they “disagree” with are assigned false equivalency to the grassroots people focused on getting the story right that the creator might also talk to - if at all.
Red flags to look out for:
People who once worked for politicians, or were part of the legacy media, or were rocketed to notoriety out of the blue.
People who seem to be given “scoops” hot off the type writers at Langley.
People who tend to show up at all the wrong times at the right places to stop people fighting the powerful - or even thinking about fighting the powers that be.
People still pushing crypto.
People who still peddle electoral solutions of any sort.
People who have already been exposed time and time again.
We are BEGGING you: don't waste your time on these distractions, ops, & duopoly/electoral focused clowns. Their entire goal is to redirect & dissipate energy fostered from anger at the real stewards of the current system that made them wealthy and put them in power. Their motivation is to act empathetic while pushing the status quo for as long as possible.
You're not "dunking on them" - and you're not "exposing them" - if they have a much bigger platform than you do. On the off chance that you DO have a bigger platform: why would you help them have more attention than they would normally get???
Remember, this is power YOU give them. The only thing they require to be relevant is: your attention. The minute you stop playing their game, they lose. Don't give it away to those undeserving who have not earned it. Give to those that have.
There is an entire industry, driven by keywords, centered around this rage bait, engagement farming, or the need to feel politically superior.
We’re all for exposing the powerful here - but most of the time, these accounts and personalities are only names a very small circle even knows, or ever sees. The average person is too busy and preoccupied surviving life to even think about the long list of corrupt politicians, news anchors, elected officials, political influencers, etc… that the majority of people online spend their time and energy “exposing”. Most of that same list has no REAL power, other than their influence - or whatever laws and policy the REAL masters we should be calling out, order them to enact.
One more thing: creators who use the click-baity titles and words like OWNED, DESTROYED, HUMILIATED with those same idiots names in all caps sprinkled between them are also PART OF THE PROBLEM. They're trying to grab your attention, to replace the gap that corporate media has left open by sucking so badly. Don’t fall for the drama. What are these creators informing you about? Nothing. They're just recapping what happened on ANOTHER show and giving their take on it. Which, if I really cared that much, I would just watch myself without the filter and analysis.
The other argument for why to address these idiots at all, is that "it's fun" to point and laugh at the stupid - but who is it REALLY helping? Is it actually “Fun”? There’s plenty of actually “fun” activities, which would be far better time spent. Plenty of other material for jokes. Plenty of actually powerful people to mock and expose but you have to THINK BIGGER.
We could name plenty of names. We could list the most egregious, but it would only get them more attention. Bottom line, it doesn’t matter exactly who we would have in mind, but as a reminder, this article is more of a plea to do your own discerning and start asking the questions yourself and change the base way you think about how you engage online.
More from Reef and Indie:
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You guys make a powerful argument. I think most well meaning content creators have been guilty of feeding these engagement trolls. (Myself included) I don't have much of an excuse. During the holidays I was really busy but I wanted to do my show "Angel In The Afternoon" on INN at 7PM EST so I featured Kyle Kulinski stories on my show two weeks in a row. Honestly, those episodes got more views than my show usually get. However, last week when I covered Kulinski I was thinking to myself what was I doing? I was embarrassed that I was even covering that lolcow. I realized while I was playing that video that I grew as a content creator and I didn't need to use these influencers as a crutch anymore. I know this is a long comment but I personally want to thank both of you for your support. 2025 is going to be a big year for INN.
The greatest challenge of our times, I believe, lies in navigating the fine line between enduring the relentless grind of capitalism and pursuing a genuinely sustainable way of life. On one side, we're clawing our way through a system rigged from the start, a world that demands we "pull ourselves up by our bootstraps," even when those very straps are worn thin or missing altogether.
Creators today seem caught in a similar bind. Many pour their energy into crafting content that's just palatable enough to keep the algorithms happy while amassing a loyal audience, all without stretching themselves to the breaking point. It's less about principles or sharp, critical thinking and more about mastering the mechanics of the game. And make no mistake, it's a game, a high-stakes numbers racket fueled by clicks, likes, and shares. Capitalism looms large here, too, pushing so many content creators to chase the dream of being their own boss, free from the grind of someone else's clock.
Yet, that dream is accessible to only a privileged few, those with the rare blend of talent, charisma, and timing. Meanwhile, what’s healthy for society or conducive to a sustainable future for content creation gets sidelined. In the rush to win today’s game, we risk losing tomorrow's world.
What I crave in content isn't more of the same recycled takes, warmed over from the depths of CIA/FBI handled Reddit or Twitter. I want originality, insight, and purpose. The endless loop of regurgitated opinions, often thinly veiled as independent thought, feels like intellectual self-harm on an astonishing scale. And yes, while it’s easy to be cynical, the truth is that some of us still care, about the creators, the community, and the potential to build something meaningful beyond the hamster wheel of likes and monetization.
Thanks for the thought-provoking article. May we all find the courage to dream beyond the system, even when it feels impossible.