7 ms·

I had the opposite experience with the Smollet case. I actually never heard or cared about Smollet till it started popping up as the #1 and #2 stories in r/news

by dmode 8y ago

I had the opposite experience with the Smollet case. I actually never heard or cared about Smollet till it started popping up as the #1 and #2 stories in r/news. As someone who is on the left of political spectrum and politically fairly active, I don't of know anyone who really thought Smollet was some representation of the political left. The fact that he was actively "brigaded" and "upvoted" in r/news and r/conservative and r/t_d tells you a lot about political discourse and "comments" section. It has been taken over for trolls and professional trolls at that to score cheap online points, but also to game search engine rankings. There is no space for neutral conversation anymore.

makomk 8y ago
A whole bunch of prominent Democrats - I think possibly even the entire slate of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, but certainly close to it - publicly and loudly stood behind Smollet's claim of being attacked. Most of the news covered it too. Even here in the UK, both his original claims and him calling accusations he faked the attack racist and homophobic made the front page of the BBC and probably a bunch of other sites. If you only saw it on r/news that probably says more about where you get your news from than anything.
- avinium 8y ago
  Eh, I have literally no stake in the US political landscape/culture wars (non-American, largely apolitical, don't actively seek out US current affairs). I was made aware of the Smollet case via reddit frontpage. I recall the majority of comments from the get-go were very skeptical of the story. Make of that what you will.
  - avinium 8y ago
    Downvotes? Seriously? This was possibly the most benign comment anyone could ever make in regards to the subject matter.
heurist 8y ago
There are neutral spaces (on Reddit) but they are not popular because they don't make people feel good by confirming their biases. Most prefer attacking feckless strawmen over having substantive arguments.

by dmode 8y ago

makomk 8y ago

A whole bunch of prominent Democrats - I think possibly even the entire slate of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, but certainly close to it - publicly and loudly stood behind Smollet's claim of being attacked. Most of the news covered it too. Even here in the UK, both his original claims and him calling accusations he faked the attack racist and homophobic made the front page of the BBC and probably a bunch of other sites. If you only saw it on r/news that probably says more about where you get your news from than anything.

avinium 8y ago
Eh, I have literally no stake in the US political landscape/culture wars (non-American, largely apolitical, don't actively seek out US current affairs). I was made aware of the Smollet case via reddit frontpage. I recall the majority of comments from the get-go were very skeptical of the story. Make of that what you will.
- avinium 8y ago
  Downvotes? Seriously? This was possibly the most benign comment anyone could ever make in regards to the subject matter.

heurist 8y ago

There are neutral spaces (on Reddit) but they are not popular because they don't make people feel good by confirming their biases. Most prefer attacking feckless strawmen over having substantive arguments.