128: OnlyChuds Conservatism

Is the MAGA media machine actually cracking up, or is it just taking a summer nap? Jared and Mike sift through new data reporting from The New York Times, and a truly staggering amount of cringe, to find out. View counts are dropping, engagement is cratering, and people are getting "the ick" from influencers like Benny Johnson. Amid this MAGA content recession, one unusual newcomer is growing her audience: self-styled "American Sweetheart" Savanna Cannon. First covered in The Bulwark, Cannon is producing racist Instagram content in apparent hopes of converting horny MAGA men into OnlyFans simps who will pay to watch her do anal. MAGA has also taken aim at rap music, claiming without evidence that the genre only succeeded in pop culture because of funding from since-shuttered USAID programs. If not for this secret USAID scheme, they suggest, maybe we'd all be line-dancing to country tunes right now. Imagine that! Links to stories referenced: The MAGA Media Machine Is Fracturing (Stuart A. Thompson @ The New York Times) Right-Wing Media and OnlyFans Are in a Symbiotic Relationship (Will Sommer @ The Bulwark) Right Wingers Claim Rap Music is Dead Thanks to ... Elon's USAID Cuts (Nikki McCann Ramírez @ Rolling Stone)