Through a Glass, Darkly

"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." 1 Corinthians 13:12 (King James Version)

Go to X.com. 

Have a look around. 

Depending on history and interests, at some point you’ll likely be confronted by a mix of overtly right-wing content (Christian Nationalism, Anti-woke posts, Nazi revisionism, and loads and loads of Trump). There is also a supply of batshittery on every subject imaginable: flat earthers, Christians ridiculing evolution, tradwives posting idyllic posts that eulogize child rearing and wifely obedience, anti vaxxers and even revisionist history about slavery and the revolutionary war. The Bullshit is oceanic with a strong undertow: wide, deep, and sucky.

While you’re here, pass your eyes over the numbers of people seeing the posts and the number of followers some of the most prolific, extreme users are. It’s not uncommon to see that they have tens or hundreds of thousands of views and followers. 

This level of engagement is something you pay for: on  X the number of engagements that your content generates determines how much cold hard cash you receive. Shitposters can make real money by fermenting outrage, counting the clicks, and pulling in the cash. Not only that, but the amount of money you pay to the platform determines your level of 'reply boost'. For a mere $40 a month, your content will be put in front of more people. 

Just how this works is opaque. Elon Musk is probably placing his thumb on the scale to suit his own purposes (either to serve his ego, his ideological perspective, or his business interests). It’s a matter of public record that after the 2023 Super Bowl, he frantically insisted on significant changes to the platform to make sure that his posts were seen by more people. Anecdotally, left leaning users report that the number of right posts in their feeds has increased dramatically.

The quality of the content is irrelevant. Many posts are just factually wrong and the arguments being made are astonishingly flimsy. It usually requires no expertise to dismantle posters’  arguments but that never seems to bother anyone. The Hellsite grinds on - inexorably promoting the most ill-informed, cruel, flagrantly dishonest content imaginable. 

I have been active on the site, largely because I want to engage (see my post: “We Need to Talk”), argue with people with an opposing view, and understand what-the-hell is going on in these spaces.

Basically, it’s a horror show.

On my feed, I see frequent posts about Trump’s general magnificence, about the absolute truth of the Bible, denialism about COVID, Trad Wife posts of how idyllic and wonderful married, childbearing life is, and (strangely) AI-generated movies of huge men wearing full gothic plate mail brandishing templar heraldry [apparently as an appeal to a sort of 12th Century crusader vibe]. There's a plethora other vaguely hilarious, deeply horrifying wrongheaded ideological takes on almost any subject you could name. 

For example, I replied to a post from a guy with the handle `MagaGrunt1` where he  posted a threatening image of a masked special forces soldier with the caption "The Kind of Infidel Allah Warned You About" - I thought the imagery looked genuinely terrifying and said "This post makes you look like a murderous psychopath", to which he responded with a cordial 'ty' as a response. This was one of the more good natured interactions I've had. Yesterday, I posted an outraged (but evidence-backed) response to a COVID denier that racked up a nice thousand or so views for which I received a block and an ad-hominem attack that questioned my motives, expertise, and nationality. These were nothing special, just two of the interactions I've had on X over the last couple of days. There are pastors, authors, and influencers galore. Clearly, this is one of the main marketplaces of the attention economy, and there is no shortage of click-hungry vendors out there.  

An interesting dynamic happened around the death of Rob and Michele Reiner, murdered by their troubled son. In the immediate aftermath, there was general sympathy and (almost) normal responses on X. This shifted when Donald Trump posted an insane screed claiming Reiner died ‘due to the anger he caused others through his…TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME,’ mocking a murdered man hours after his death.

The response from people on X was immediate and quite pervasively supportive of Trump’s position (although there were some brave souls willing to publicly criticize him for that post). I thought it was interesting how broad the subsequent coverage was from supporters on X. It seemed swept the site for a day or so and then it disappeared. This is how the conversation goes, tidal swells of opinion that is largely detached from reality dying back down to the everyday drip-drip-drip nonsense that forms the standard diet from within this topsy-turvy realm.

At some level, I feel some level of catharsis through these interactions. Politically, there is so much astonishing nonsense flying around, just attempting to occasionally post a rebuttal both feels good and I even get the odd 'like' from a stranger or two - so maybe other people are a little inspired by these mild attempts to stand up for what's right, at least in my eyes. 

I need to tread carefully with my own inner demons here. I like to argue. I especially like to argue with people who I know I'm never going to convince them regardless. I feel these tendencies pulling me deeper into participating more, but I know it's not good for me. My wife actively hates me being on X - she says I’m distracted and ‘always on my phone. She's been a good sport about it, but she has a point - trying to engage here is exhausting and time consuming. 

One observation of interest is the presence of a large amount of Christian Nationalist material (in-keeping with the presence of this perspective throughout US conservative political voices. These posts scream 'click on me' - either from heathen dissenters like myself or true believers who feel the spirit move them to shout a text-based 'Amen'. 

If the Devil was real, he'd likely really love X.  I can imagine an episode of the dystopian TV show, Black Mirror, where Satan would run a whole drove of X Premium Plus accounts that post this kind of content. They'd goad, bait, and trick vulnerable people into posting all sorts of irreverent, evil, and nonsensical diatribes on X. The posters would damn themselves through their cruelty. The Devil's minions would rack up souls by the million, cackling raucously as they harvest our misery and pain. 

In so many ways, X is the antithesis of an authentic place of worship, self-exploration, or spiritual awakening. It creates a marketplace that accelerates and monetizes quick angry responses - with no guardrails for accuracy, consideration, or decency. X has been shown to rarely enforce any of its own community standards regarding online behavior and, as evidenced by my minor skirmishes with its agents, pretty much anything goes in there. 

To return to the title of this piece - the dark glass we see through here is the endless scrolling feed of bullshit that unceasingly attempts to pull you in and trap you in its folds. Few of these interactions are 'face to face'. Even fewer of them involve anyone being known, or even knowing anything. 

Resist engaging with that black mirror and the voices you hear within it. They are sent by deceivers to profit from your darkest impulses and your soul will suffer from their influence.

Largely due to writing this essay, I’m quitting any political engagement on X. I think everyone should recognize the platform for what it is: a system for monetizing attention in direct service of Elon Musk’s interests - with all the associated fare for the hell-site’s various dark appetites. Generally, political and ideological engagement here serves only to control us and has zero relevance to the truth, insight or indeed anything of value. 

As a researcher working on technological approaches to empowering truth in service of humanity, I feel that we can and must do better. Our information networks should serve principles that run deeper than the limited whims or desires of a small number of wealthy people. In order to make that work, we are going to have to recognize the risks for ourselves and take action that drives the market toward truth.

So far, systems like X demonstrate that is a far flung hope with little evidence to support it. Perhaps we can shift it in the future.