Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

niyad

(112,435 posts)
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 09:02 AM Apr 2021

Techno tabloids. It occurred to me, (before coffee!), that the whole qanon/rwnj fantasy world,

is the Internet version of the tabloids. Not an original thought, I am sure. The same mentality that believes in batboy, and the lurid headlines of the national enquirer, star, etc., has no trouble believing "q" and all that insanity. At least they are not killing trees printing this garbage.

I was thinking about this because of the latest round of bs that was brought to my attention last night, about the 1,300 bodies removed from the Ever Given. Glad I was not drinking anything. Maybe david pecker is "q".

Now to have some caffeine and see if my brain wakes up.

28 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Techno tabloids. It occurred to me, (before coffee!), that the whole qanon/rwnj fantasy world, (Original Post) niyad Apr 2021 OP
HEY! Hugin Apr 2021 #1
I do apologize for the offense. It just occurred to me that I don't remember the last rime I niyad Apr 2021 #2
WWN went away over a decade ago... Hugin Apr 2021 #6
We are in good company cyclonefence Apr 2021 #9
I will readily admit... Hugin Apr 2021 #19
More like professional wrestling. Beastly Boy Apr 2021 #3
I think you may be correct. I have never watched that, so cannot speak to it. niyad Apr 2021 #4
I've posted this link before, about how QAnonsense looks from the perspective of a game designer. GoneOffShore Apr 2021 #5
I just finished watching Q: Into the Storm PatSeg Apr 2021 #8
Thank you for the reminder. I have never been a gamer, not even D&D, but I have seen the niyad Apr 2021 #12
I think the parallels to "Satanic Panic" is closer. Buckeye_Democrat Apr 2021 #7
I think it is an addiction PatSeg Apr 2021 #10
You might be right! Buckeye_Democrat Apr 2021 #13
Yes, it is so very human PatSeg Apr 2021 #21
I must be very strange. I don't like fear-induced adrenaline rushes, or endless excitement. niyad Apr 2021 #15
Same here PatSeg Apr 2021 #23
I am with you. Mysteries I love. And the heart-swelling feeling of an incredible sunrise, or the niyad Apr 2021 #24
I like the puzzle aspect of mysteries, PatSeg Apr 2021 #27
I posted recently about how the satanic panic and drug hysteria were straight out of the 80's niyad Apr 2021 #17
Lol, I forgot about the P&G conspiracy! Buckeye_Democrat Apr 2021 #20
I think you are quite correct. niyad Apr 2021 #22
Waaay older... LunaSea Apr 2021 #26
The big difference is that your neighbors might see you cyclonefence Apr 2021 #11
Excellent point. I used to wonder how they kept publishing, because I rarely saw anyone buying niyad Apr 2021 #14
It's the Gamification of conspiracy theories designed on purpose JCMach1 Apr 2021 #16
So who is the dungeon master? niyad Apr 2021 #18
Part of the Psyops created by Trump campaign in 2016 JCMach1 Apr 2021 #25
Every conspiracy has a purpose Nancy Waterman Apr 2021 #28

Hugin

(32,778 posts)
1. HEY!
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 09:17 AM
Apr 2021

Leave my beloved WWN alone!






It had a decidedly antifa bent when it was cancelled by Pecker under claims it was underperforming. (It's constant jabs at the Reich-wing were the real reason, I betcha.)

Every story in it was totally true. (in a universe parallel to the stupid one we inhabit. which I concede are the product of the national enquirer et al.)

niyad

(112,435 posts)
2. I do apologize for the offense. It just occurred to me that I don't remember the last rime I
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 09:22 AM
Apr 2021

even noticed them at the checkout line.

Hugin

(32,778 posts)
6. WWN went away over a decade ago...
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 09:31 AM
Apr 2021

The others have quietly faded from view following the Pecker/Trump scandal a few years ago.

:sniff:

I accept your apology and will inform Batboy and the 'squatch as they were a bit uppity about being paired with the trashiloids.

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
9. We are in good company
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 09:57 AM
Apr 2021

Eudora Welty, the great author, said in an interview that her favorite publication was WWN because it gave her so many good plot ideas.

There should be a support group.

Hugin

(32,778 posts)
19. I will readily admit...
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 10:22 AM
Apr 2021

It became schizo at near the end.

I attribute that to the talent seeing the writing on the wall and seeking a new gig.

Yeah, a support group. We could call it WWNAnon. Heh. Or maybe not.

Beastly Boy

(9,063 posts)
3. More like professional wrestling.
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 09:23 AM
Apr 2021

Everybody knows it's a freak show, but it triggers the most primitive responses in the fans. The adrenaline junkies who are too lazy to get their high in a more physically or intellectually challenging way, are hooked.

GoneOffShore

(17,309 posts)
5. I've posted this link before, about how QAnonsense looks from the perspective of a game designer.
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 09:30 AM
Apr 2021

Here are the opening paragraphs and a link at the bottom.

I am a game designer with experience in a very small niche. I create and research games designed to be played in reality. I’ve worked in Alternate Reality Games (ARGs), LARPs, experience fiction, interactive theater, and “serious games”. Stories and games that can start on a computer, and finish in the real world. Fictions designed to feel as real as possible. Games that teach you. Puzzles that come to life all around the players. Games where the deeper you dig, the more you find. Games with rabbit holes that invite you into wonderland and entice you through the looking glass.

When I saw QAnon, I knew exactly what it was and what it was doing. I had seen it before. I had almost built it before. It was gaming’s evil twin. A game that plays people. (Cue ominous music.)

QAnon has often been compared to ARGs and LARPs and rightly so. It uses many of the same gaming mechanisms and rewards. It has a game-like feel to it that is evident to anyone who has ever played an ARG, online role-play (RP) or LARP before. The similarities are so striking that it has often been referred to as a LARP or ARG. However this beast is very very different from a game.


A Game Designer’s Analysis Of QAnon

PatSeg

(46,804 posts)
8. I just finished watching Q: Into the Storm
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 09:53 AM
Apr 2021

on HBO last night and it was really disturbing and depressing. It would seem that some computer and game nerds have moved from their virtual worlds into reality, but still appear oblivious to the consequences of what they do. Or they enjoy the power of posting on a message board and seeing major real life effects, like the whole world is their personal chessboard. Even the President of the United States acknowledges their existence.

Just imagine a gamer taking that ability to create nations, governments, civilizations, and wars into the real world. Then sitting back and watching the aftermath. I think it is less about ideology or politics and more about power. It is all so bizarre. I feel like I've been tossed into a snake pit. It is hard to comprehend such people.

niyad

(112,435 posts)
12. Thank you for the reminder. I have never been a gamer, not even D&D, but I have seen the
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 10:04 AM
Apr 2021

hypnotic, drug-like effect it has on people.

Buckeye_Democrat

(14,847 posts)
7. I think the parallels to "Satanic Panic" is closer.
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 09:41 AM
Apr 2021

Why Satanic Panic never really ended:
The collective fears that consumed the US in the 1980s and ’90s are still alive and well — all the way through QAnon and beyond.
https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/culture/22358153/satanic-panic-ritual-abuse-history-conspiracy-theories-explained


I watched the Geraldo Rivera TV special mentioned in that article, years ago, and it struck me as completely ludicrous.

Then I kept hearing people the next day, talking about it like it was real! As if there must be Satan worshippers throughout their neighborhood, just waiting for the chance to kidnap them or their loved ones for their ritualistic human sacrifices.

The amount of paranoia and fear in this country blows my mind, especially since it often comes from the unreal instead of the real! And all it seems to take is someone, anyone, planting those seeds of fear in their minds. (Which is easier now, with online forums.)

PatSeg

(46,804 posts)
10. I think it is an addiction
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 09:59 AM
Apr 2021

People look for excuses to be outraged or afraid. It is like going to the theater and watching horror films or riding on the scariest roller coaster at the park. When life gets boring and predictable, people often seek out drama and conspiracies. The adrenaline rush can be very addictive. The problem is that like any drug, over time you need stronger doses more often. It is hard to break the cycle.

Buckeye_Democrat

(14,847 posts)
13. You might be right!
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 10:05 AM
Apr 2021

Good grief, boredom-induced fear and paranoia!

It wouldn't surprise me if it's true.

PatSeg

(46,804 posts)
21. Yes, it is so very human
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 10:24 AM
Apr 2021

I suppose for a time, people can fulfill that need with movies, TV, and video games, but eventually it just isn't enough. Kind of reminds me of the serial killer who started out as a peeping Tom or a stalker and gradually escalated to brutal murderer. The problem with any addiction is there is never enough. Pretty soon it seems that these people are cherry-picking which conspiracies suit their wants and needs at any given moment.

niyad

(112,435 posts)
15. I must be very strange. I don't like fear-induced adrenaline rushes, or endless excitement.
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 10:11 AM
Apr 2021

Apparently I am a pretty boring person.

PatSeg

(46,804 posts)
23. Same here
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 10:32 AM
Apr 2021

Though I like a really good mystery or thriller, I never cared for really scary movies. I can't understand actually paying to be scared witless and I certainly don't go looking for it. If I want a "thrill", I prefer something overwhelmingly beautiful and inspiring. I'm sure there are scientific explanations for why some people seek out darkness and terror, while others eschew it. Meanwhile, it must be an awful way to live.

niyad

(112,435 posts)
24. I am with you. Mysteries I love. And the heart-swelling feeling of an incredible sunrise, or the
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 10:49 AM
Apr 2021

stark vast beauty of the desert. Or profound joy. It makes so much more sense.

PatSeg

(46,804 posts)
27. I like the puzzle aspect of mysteries,
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 11:48 AM
Apr 2021

but I don't want to see the actual crime. I am more about analyzing and solving a crime. I don't need the heart-stopping terror. I feel badly for people who don't or can't extraordinary beauty around them.

niyad

(112,435 posts)
17. I posted recently about how the satanic panic and drug hysteria were straight out of the 80's
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 10:20 AM
Apr 2021

and 90's. Nothing original at all. Some of us here are old enough to remember the whole "Procter and gamble is a satanic company" nonsense. I never could find the talk show where the ceo proclaimed it on national tv.

One of my favourite pieces from the whole child-stealing, sacrificing blood rituals was a pamphlet given to police departments on how to spot satanists. Did they have incense? Images of unicorns? Mortars and pestles? Our tax dollars actually paid for this bs.

Buckeye_Democrat

(14,847 posts)
20. Lol, I forgot about the P&G conspiracy!
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 10:23 AM
Apr 2021

Thanks for reminding me.

Thus country has indeed been full of those crackpots for years. Heck, it might go all the way back to the early Puritan settlers and their witch hunts.

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
11. The big difference is that your neighbors might see you
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 10:00 AM
Apr 2021

buying a tabloid magazine at the checkout counter; nobody can see what you're up to on the internet (except Bill Gates, of course). Nutjob stories that would have had you laughed out of the koffee-klatch because everyone saw where they came from can now be presented as the opinions of "experts" and as having "evidence" to back them up.

niyad

(112,435 posts)
14. Excellent point. I used to wonder how they kept publishing, because I rarely saw anyone buying
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 10:08 AM
Apr 2021

them. These days, of course, only the clerk and bragger can see what one is purchasing.

JCMach1

(27,544 posts)
16. It's the Gamification of conspiracy theories designed on purpose
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 10:11 AM
Apr 2021

To psychologically manipulate people

Nancy Waterman

(6,407 posts)
28. Every conspiracy has a purpose
Wed Apr 7, 2021, 12:00 PM
Apr 2021

No matter how crazy they sound, they have an agenda. If Sandy Hook didn't happen, it means ubiquitous guns are not an issue. If the virus was a scam, than it means Trump's criminal negligence is not real. Many of the craziness is now just to diminish the importance of data and science, i.e. the "the libtards" who must be dismissed and minimized and humiliated in any way possible. So masks aren't needed, everything can return to normal, etc. because "we" don't want to be told anything by those pointy-headed elites. It has become a knee jerk reaction to make up some crazy excuse why reality isn't real, just to feed a very primitive agenda.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Techno tabloids. It occur...