There used to be a difference between famous and infamous – people aspired to be famous, no one wanted to be infamous. It was good attention versus bad attention. Now, the line between those two sides is gone and desperate narcissists who seek to fill the holes in their souls only see attention; numbers. These people are on full display right now; you should spot them and try to avoid them like the plague.
You know the types – every time they’re challenged, they cite numbers of views or subscribers, as if that irrelevant information indicates anything other than the depths of their insecurity. “Wow, you have a million followers across all platforms and three-quarters of a million subscribers” on YouTube? You must be a hit with the chicks!”
So, why is it, then, that you only get a couple thousand “views” per show, especially when anyone having an auto-play video pop up on their screen that runs for more than three seconds counts as a “view.” I’ve likely watched more than a million videos myself without ever actually having registered what it was because it just played for a second after what I wanted to watch ended.
And beware the “across all platforms” frauds. If you have a hundred thousand “followers” on 10 different platforms, you don’t have “a million followers.” What you have is a bunch of bots and most of the same people on all the sites. That’s just how it works and they know it, but they’re counting on you NOT knowing it.
They can sell the lie because the people buying it are boomers who barely understand the concept of the Internet, let alone how it all works. They’re so afraid of being “left behind” in the digital age that they take any big number you throw at them as gospel, then they burp it up the food chain and can “sell” ads or sponsorships to their bosses off the lie. They seem relevant and the liars get paid, which is the goal.
The only problem is that there is literally zero difference made.
You might not be surprised to learn that most people in this game don’t actually care about the causes they proclaim to hold dear; they want money and attention. They might prefer one thing over another, but they will lick their finger, stick it in the air and change whatever they need to when they notice the wind shift. Their top priority is them, over policy, politics, principles or honesty.
I know that sounds cynical, and I’m a cynical person, so you might want to dismiss what I’m saying, and you’re free to. But I’m not lying.
How else do you get some of the biggest Trump fans – people who happily drafted off the President’s popularity – to switch on a dime to critics once his poll numbers slipped? You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows, especially when a pundit will do.
They’re always selling something and it’s usually out. Use their promo code, buy the supplements or antibiotics they use, sign up for their cruise and subscribe…just subscribe. You are the cow and they are the milking machine.
I don’t always eat freeze-dried food, but when I do – especially after the apocalypse – I use promo code “I’m the hero, just ask me.”
‘Roid rage, contempt for being challenged and an insistence that they, alone, are the keepers of truth are all hallmarks of people who live to get numbers and into your wallet. The feeling of popularity can breed popularity, at least for a while. But nothing is a substitute for truth.
Never trust anyone who tells you they can be trusted; if they are worthy of trust, you will know in time.
It’s sad that politics is full of so many grifters, but there’s money to be made and power to wield, or at least the illusion of power.
In reality, there isn’t money because those people wield power, but because of the perception that they do. Fewer people are paying attention, but those who are get hooked by the grifters and milked like the little old lady convinced that if they don’t give their Social Security and bank account numbers to the nice man on the phone, “from the FBI,” they will lose their house.
Listen to whoever you want to, but trust yourself. If it seems like you’re hearing exactly what you agree with, you aren’t being informed; you’re probably being played.
Derek Hunter is the host of the Derek Hunter Show on WMAL in Washington, DC, and has a free daily podcast (subscribe!) and author of the book, Outrage, INC., which exposes how liberals use fear and hatred to manipulate the masses, and host of the weekly “Week in F*cking Review” podcast where the news is spoken about the way it deserves to be. Follow him on Twitter at @DerekAHunter.
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