How the right weaponized Kirk's murder; They were ready and waiting

[misanthrope]

The moment Charlie Kirk was shot, the American political right swung into action. What they accomplished over the ensuing days was a masterclass in propaganda, demonstrating how well they deploy the media machine they built and how powerful that machine can be.

SNIP

I want to be clear who I’m talking about when I refer to “the American political right,” especially since one of the key components of their disinformation campaign is to ascribe beliefs, words, and actions to “the left” that almost no one, and certainly no one of influence, actually holds. I’m not talking about random online jerks with 100 followers on X. I’m talking about the closely intertwined political-media complex, which includes:

-Officials in the White House and throughout the executive branch

-Republican members of Congress and their staff

-Staff of conservative organizations

-Elected officials and political activists at the state level

-Fox News, Newsmax, OAN, and the other right-leaning cable TV outlets, as well as writers for conservative op-ed pages

-Right-wing podcasters, newsletter and website writers, radio hosts, and social media influencers

SNIP

This all came at a moment when the right was beginning to lose a bit of its joie de vivre. As much as they enjoy watching masked agents brutalize immigrants or seeing Trump dismantle the Department of Education, when your side is in power, the excitement and intensity of rebellion can fade away. They've been in something of a low gear in the propaganda wars, forced to pretend they give a damn about what font the Cracker Barrel logo is in. But now they are re-energized, feeling a new purpose and focus as once again they tell themselves that they are warriors ready to smite their enemies with the sword of righteousness.

https://paulwaldman.substack.com/p/how-the-right-turned-charlie-kirks?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email&triedRedirect=true