Photos: Zeteo\YouTube Screenshots
If you’ve been online recently, you’ve probably heard all about the scandal behind what was supposed to be the box-office smash hit, ‘It Ends With Us.’ Yes, we’re talking about the Blake Lively vs Justin Baldoni drama.
Regardless of who you think is right or wrong, the online coverage of the legal drama, and the right-wing pile-on against Lively, has brought to the forefront something more sinister: The Misogyny Slop Ecosystem, as it’s being called, and how it could be responsible for funneling women into the far-right media machine.
Taylor Lorenz, the award-winning tech and culture journalist behind User Mag and the new Zeteo column, ‘Network Effect,’ tells Mehdi, “They are weaponizing celebrity gossip and weaponizing pop culture stories to push conservative narratives and ultimately mainstream their ideology.”
Taylor talks about right-wing commentator Candace Owens and how Owens established herself as a major voice in the online coverage of the case, creating a unique opportunity for her to capture a whole new audience.
“They don’t realize it and they start watching it,” Taylor explains. “And then suddenly, they keep watching Candace Owens and then they’re exposed to all of this other really dangerous content.”
If you’re a paid subscriber, you canwatch the full interview above to hear why liberals are largely absent from online pop culture discourse.
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