>>129591
They're insane. Compared to them Bobby Kennedy is a mainstream figure, and people understand - that that's why he's winning. And you know he's winning by how his critics are doing. So it is four years ago Anna Merlin was regarded as an important expert on conspiracy theories and misinformation. She'd written a book on the topic. Here she is talking about it

“I've always thought that in the case of conspiracy peddlers it's not necessarily a super profitable enterprise to ask whether they really believe it or not because I don't know what's in their hearts I don't know what's in their minds. All I know is what they spend their time doing, which is promoting conspiracy theories. In the case of ordinary people, conspiracy consumers - and most Americans are to some degree consumers of conspiracy theories - all the studies that we have show that like one in three Americans believe in some conspiracy theory to some extent.

For the people in the very deep end of the conspiracy pool, people are consuming a lot of conspiracy content, I think it's really important to look at the way it helps them make sense of the world and make sense of our political moment, and make sense of a lot of times like what's happening in their own lives.”

“All the studies that we have show that like one in three Americans believe in some conspiracy theory, uh” You'll notice the upspeak the rising inflection at the end of the sentence that's a familiar tick in Brooklyn, it's designed to turn a declarative sentence into a question and thereby belittle the listener: “Do you follow me, is this too complicated for you.”

So the lady in the nose ring wants you to know she's smart… but she's not.

When Merlin recorded that interview Vice where she now works was valued at more than five billion dollars: genius investors like James Murdoch were showering the company with money. Everyone wanted it on the future of media which was up talkers like Anna Merlin lecturing you about racism and misinformation but that has changed.

Last month Vice filed for bankruptcy. Anna Merlin is still on Twitter screeching about how her critics are transphobic… but nobody cares; nobody wants to hear from Anna Merlin anymore.

The Gatekeepers are transparently ridiculous. Everyone can see that. People have started to notice.