Oh yes, there was definitely an American conspiracy to drop tea in the harbor. But more seriously, I think that part of this is due to YouTube, et al. For mos

Oh yes, there was definitely an American conspiracy to drop tea in the harbor. But more seriously, I think that part of this is due to YouTube, et al. For most of the history of audible media, hosts were chosen in part based on pronunciation. That is essentially gone - anyone can be internet-famous and not only influence behavior but speech. I definitely see it in kids that are unconsciously emulating their favorite YouTubers/TikTokers. I'd say that what we are seeing is an agglomeration of regional speech differences, where oceans aren't even a barrier anymore.