Dark Money and Para Social News Sources
So there was an article from Wired by journalist Taylor Lorenz about Democratic Influencers being funded by dark money on the 27th of August 20251 that has caused a mess online that doesn't seem to be going away. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then please skip this, you do not need to know, trust me.
But if you are aware then I really think the constant online angst is coming from people needing to defend the creators that Lorenz critiqued in the article. And it's unhealthy. Developing parasocial relationships with people we follow online is just a natural human thing, but it's only healthy if we recognize how unreal it is and be willing to drop it if need be.
And how do we know if it's needed? Well simply, follow people if they match your principles and if they stop matching your principles... stop following them. People can change, and we need to be able to adjust to that.
And we only know someone's true principles when they're forced to make a choice. So for example. It is a choice to not call the genocide of the people in Gaza a genocide, It is a choice to call yourself a Zionist or an anti-Zionist, it is a choice to advocate for a free Palestine from the river to the sea, or instead a demilitarized Palestine state that's dependent on apartheid Israel for things like... water. It is a choice to not talk about the democratic establishment not endorsing Zohran Mamdani in NYC and withdrawing an endorsement from Omar Fateh in Minneapolis. It is a choice to sign a contract that requires not disclosing you signed the contract and then talking about anything but that in an attempt to protect yourself. We need to react appropriately to these choices.
I'll give examples for myself. I used to follow Briana Joy Grey, but I stopped when she started being mean to Ukrainians. It's because I'll never forgive Russia for what they did to Chechnya. I used to follow Hasan Minhaj, but I stopped when he interviewed a Pod Save America Host about why Kamala Harris lost but didn't mention Gaza even once. That rubbed me the wrong way and I moved on. I still watch their clips every once in a while but here's the thing. There's so many creators to get informed by nowadays that it's easy to replace these people. Switch to Democracy Now, or Zeteo, or donate to Wikipedia, Pro-Publica, the Grey Zone, The Majority Report, Hasan Piker etc. That's where my media diet is right now, and what's important is I'm willing to change it if needed.
Here's the thing, if you're willing to move on from an online creator, then you're acting on principle and you're in charge of the parasocial relationship. But if you're not, then you're acting like you're in a personality cult and you've given them power over you.
The choice is yours, but there's only one good one here.