On Childless Cat-Ladies & Haitian Dog-Eaters

Issue #272 | September 12, 2024

A Marshall McLuhan (tw) acolyte watching Tuesday night’s presidential debate between Donald J. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris might have understood the historical significance of an evening marked by instances where the meme-dium was the message.

As her opponent argued with moderator David Muir on the legitimacy of an internet rumor regarding dog-eating Haitian immigrants in Springfield (“I saw it on TV!” Trump repeatedly claimed), the VP stood resting her head against the back of her hand, an instantly iconic reaction that, depending on her expression, could be read as fascinated, bored, bemused or concerned. It was instantly reposted across social media and stayed at the top of the night’s trending hashtag on X for #Debate2024.

THE COMMENTS SECTION

“moderator: mr trump says he’ll make fortnite real. what say you?

harris: [winking at camera] deez nuts ahaha!

moderator: understood. sir should home depot be making 12 foot skeletons? might god see it as a challenge?

trump: its incredible. just incredible. it is so very incre-“
– X user Soul Nate (@MNateShyamalan) on the presidential debate.

We’re now in an era of post-“hot” and “cold” mediums like film and TV: The handle is now stuck in a perpetual backflow of lukewarm content that flows bi-directionally. Conservative influencers have extended their ‘sphere of tera’ to include the former president and VP, all the while being influenced by Russian propaganda and a boatload full of money. Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris shortly after the debate and signed it from a “childless cat lady,” a dig at J.D. Vance that somehow triggered Elon Musk and Megyn Kelly into internet outrage instead. (Both conservatives’ arguments could be boiled down to “F*ck Taylor Swift,” albeit in two very different contexts.)

And as Lon Harris writes in this week’s article, “Creators are not just observing, analyzing and commenting on the presidential race. They’re steering and guiding campaigns themselves. Influencers aren’t just influencing their audiences, they’re influencing the candidates, who in a very meaningful way, are now a part of their audiences.” In the art of political theater, audience participation is increasingly mandatory.

– Drew Grant, Editorial Director

NOTED BY LON HARRIS

How the Internet Took Over the Presidential Race

Influencers are not just commenting, but driving conversations.

By Lon Harris, Passionfruit Contributor

→ READ THE FULL STORY

The 29th Annual Webby Awards is now open! This year, a new generation of creatives will make their mark as Webby Winners. With a dedicated suite of categories for Creators, now’s your chance. Create Your Mark and enter before the Early Entry Deadline on Oct. 25 here.

LEARN MORE

IN THE BIZ

Adobe announced its new text-to-video AI model, Firefly, which will be released in beta at the end of 2024 and trained only on licensed content.
Google’s experimental feature in NotebookLM turns your research into an AI-generated podcast with two “hosts” discussing the findings.
Facebook admitted to using public data of Australian adults to train its AI models without offering the same opt-out option given to Americans and Europeans.
Fyre Festival, a failed luxury music event notorious for its disastrous execution and fraudulent practices, is making a controversial comeback.

CULTURE

The Webby Awards Add New Categories For Creators

There will also be a range of new judges from the creatorverse.

By Charlotte Colombo, Passionfruit Contributor

READ THE FULL STORY →

TIPS & TRICKS

The Essential Guide to Monetization for Content Creators

Everything you ever wanted to know about monetization but were too afraid to ask.

By John-Michael Bond, Passionfruit Contributor

READ THE FULL STORY →

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

Simon Davies of Simon Talks Star Wars has some thoughts on the demonetization drama unfolding in the Star Wars community.
This creator broke down the similarities between “The Matrix” and “The Lego Movie.”
This creator reminisces about 80s animated movies and all the emotional damage they caused a generation.
Some More News has a breakdown on Tuesday night’s presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.