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Anger is addictive and profitable

Anger is addictive and profitable

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Ashley St. Clair is a 27-year-old former prominent MAGA influencer and Turning Point USA figure who, as of May 2026, has broken with the conservative movement to expose its internal mechanisms.

St. Clair built a following of over 1 million on X (formerly Twitter), establishing herself as a leading young conservative voice fighting "woke" culture. In early 2026, she began publicly criticizing the MAGA influencer ecosystem, describing it as a "coordinated" machine prioritizing paid, sometimes insincere and dark messaging targeting anger and hate. St. Clair estimated that 99 percent of large right-wing influencers are compensated in some form. She boosted anti-immigration rhetoric she says she regrets. She has since called it a cult, reversed her stance on transgender rights.

Hatred for immigrants. Hatred for transgender. Stop the steal. The money behind the indoctrination efforts in these categories is massive and designed to push anger and fear in everyone's mind.

Act accordingly.

https://newrepublic.com/article/209921/ashley-st-clair-ex-maga-influencer-hates-trump


@wildgrass said
Ashley St. Clair is a 27-year-old former prominent MAGA influencer and Turning Point USA figure who, as of May 2026, has broken with the conservative movement to expose its internal mechanisms.

St. Clair built a following of over 1 million on X (formerly Twitter), establishing herself as a leading young conservative voice fighting "woke" culture. In early 2026, she began ...[text shortened]... ccordingly.

https://newrepublic.com/article/209921/ashley-st-clair-ex-maga-influencer-hates-trump
Anger and fear, the hallmarks of the Republican Party. They've stoked this for decades.


@Suzianne said
Anger and fear, the hallmarks of the Republican Party. They've stoked this for decades.
The psychologically addictive response to things that make us angry works for any ideology, and has been used for this purpose by both Republicans and Democrats. Even the local news uses this to attract eyeballs.

This is just an example, where the person with millions of followers was faking anger and outrage for money. I think the political divide here may be that the libbies are responsive to different things. Instead of immigrants and transgenders, its rednecks and MAGA. There is evidence that in the current environment the libbies are a bit more rational at managing it, but many left-wing folk are addicted to the news for precisely this reason.


@wildgrass said
The psychologically addictive response to things that make us angry works for any ideology, and has been used for this purpose by both Republicans and Democrats. Even the local news uses this to attract eyeballs.

This is just an example, where the person with millions of followers was faking anger and outrage for money. I think the political divide here may be that the l ...[text shortened]... rational at managing it, but many left-wing folk are addicted to the news for precisely this reason.
The anger and fear on the left (righteous as it was against the constant lying of the right and the resulting destruction of the Federal government) didn't resolve into an attack on the US Capitol.

The right's overdose of TDS prevented the Senate from kicking Trump's ass to the curb (they could have done so after both impeachments), where it belonged.


@Suzianne said
The anger and fear on the left (righteous as it was against the constant lying of the right and the resulting destruction of the Federal government) didn't resolve into an attack on the US Capitol.

The right's overdose of TDS prevented the Senate from kicking Trump's ass to the curb (they could have done so after both impeachments), where it belonged.
Anger on the left didn't attack the capitol because they weren't angry about stolen elections. They're angry about other nonsense.

The whataboutism isn't the point. The point is that most things on the internet are fake (except chess) because people make money off of people's emotions. This St. Clair character exposed what is happening in right-wing influencer circles, but I am sure there's a monster media empire of left wingers as well, behind the scenes manipulating your emotions.


@wildgrass said
Anger on the left didn't attack the capitol because they weren't angry about stolen elections. They're angry about other nonsense.

The whataboutism isn't the point. The point is that most things on the internet are fake (except chess) because people make money off of people's emotions. This St. Clair character exposed what is happening in right-wing influencer circles, b ...[text shortened]... here's a monster media empire of left wingers as well, behind the scenes manipulating your emotions.
Whatever left-wing manipulation may be going on, it erupts in violence much less often than on the other end of the political spectrum. Political violence in America is persistently and significantly more right-wing than left-wing.


@moonbus said
Whatever left-wing manipulation may be going on, it erupts in violence much less often than on the other end of the political spectrum. Political violence in America is persistently and significantly more right-wing than left-wing.
Sure, if violence is used as a readout for why its bad that your anger is being manipulated by media.

If someone gets angry because they were manipulated by misleading mediae, there are bad consequences to this beyond simple violence. If you're left-of-center you see non-stop police brutality on protesters, but right wing Twitter sees rioters and looters non-stop on film. Its all designed to trigger anger emotional reactions using different storylines, and many people fail the step of thinking outside of whatever echo chambers they're already into. There is a solution on an individual level. You can push past the anger response towards a discussion about what lawmakers are doing in relation to these actions, and whether or not they'll be beneficial.


@Suzianne said
Anger and fear, the hallmarks of the Republican Party. They've stoked this for decades.
Which side are all the assassination attempts coming from?


@moonbus said
Whatever left-wing manipulation may be going on, it erupts in violence much less often than on the other end of the political spectrum. Political violence in America is persistently and significantly more right-wing than left-wing.
Stay off the acid.


@DJJ said
Which side are all the assassination attempts coming from?
Assassinations clearly aren't the problem here. When was the last time a president was assassinated? Yes, Democrat John F. Kennedy. Stop arguing an idiotic argument.

It's the effect that anger and fear have on the population. Your buddies went so far as to cause an insurrection at our nation's Capitol, interrupting the lawful work of our representatives that day, all because your president stoked their anger and fear at the Ellipse that morning.


@DJJ said
Stay off the acid.
Or maybe you could wake up and smell the coffee.


@DJJ said
Which side are all the assassination attempts coming from?
Vance Boelter was right wing

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@DJJ said
Which side are all the assassination attempts coming from?
The man who broke in and bashed Pelosi's husband in the head with a hammer was right-wing.

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@AThousandYoung said
Vance Boelter was right wing
Charlie Kirk's murderer comes from a Republican Trumptard family also. Most political violence comes from the Right in one way or another; as the facts and truth show.


@wildgrass said
Ashley St. Clair

https://newrepublic.com/article/209921/ashley-st-clair-ex-maga-influencer-hates-trump
Your thread title reminds me of that Public Image Limited song RISE with that awesome bridge
ANGER IS AN ENERGY....

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