Internet Beachcombing & Griftwood

It struck me that there’s often a fine line between “grifters” and otherwise sincere social media activists in the Alt-Sphere promoting their ideas.

The fine line—to someone who doesn’t spend all their time dwelling on this issue and making an investigative science of it—makes it difficult to tell who is which one.

Difficult, of course, doesn’t mean impossible, and one can rely on one’s intuition to tide one through. Not to mention that the degree to which it even matters plays a part. It’s not really that important to me whether or not, for example, Zuby or Benjamin Boyce are really grifters, since they don’t loom large enough in my life to care that much. But on the level of an interesting intellectual question, it can be a worthwhile question to ponder (for 17 minutes, whilst enjoying a cup of strong coffee…).

Some pundits, it is true, by virtue of their social media preponderance, exert more importance culturally—Jordan Peterson or Joe Rogan or Tim Pool, for example—and therefore it does matter at least sociopolitically whether or not they are cynically milking the Alt-Sphere or are sincerely trying to do their part (however much we may disagree with them about this or that particular trope) in the war of ideas therein. Not to mention they could be doing a subtle combination of both, in varying degrees.

Then of course, there is the darker, deeper problem beyond or below grifting per se—the problem of the “controlled opposition”—a problem distinct enough for another day.

At the end of the day, the determination of a grifter is a matter of evidence, and short of that, we only have our individual gut feelings about it (which may be informed by indications which fall short of smoking gun evidence). My intuition tells me that, for example, Zuby is closer to being a grifter than Benjamin Boyce; but others may fairly disagree. Then some may argue, “Well, even if Zuby is largely grifting, it doesn’t really matter because he’s doing so much good for the cause.” I wouldn’t necessarily disagree.