For months, the conspiracy community (aka “r/conspiracy subreddit”) at popular website Reddit has been strangely amorous of the current Republican government in general and Donald Trump in particular. Historically, so-called “conspiracy theorists” were skeptical of official government. They focused on conspiracies that exposed the establishment or TPTB (the powers that be) — some real, some imagined, some conclusory, and some absurd.
Toward the end of the 2016 campaign, r/conspiracy was inundated with Donald Trump supporters from “r/The_Donald” — a hyper-partisan group who worship Donald Trump. The long-time notion by “conspiracy theorists” that “both parties are the same” was discarded. The conspiracy environment became decidedly Republican.
Recently, moderators of the r/conspiracy community even went so far as to ban mainstream media organization CNN, joining the White House campaign to discredit the company and to cut off “ad revenue.”
A few days ago, USER photenth submitted “Conspiracy user analysis” to r/conspiracy. Crunching the statistics by u/photenth, USER Moranall found that users in the overwhelmingly Democratic Reddit community r/politics were far less likely to be active in r/conspiracy than those from r/The_Donald:
So despite having a 1:9 subcriber [sic] count and ~1:3.5 active user count, The_Donald still outposts r/politics members … by nearly twice the count.
Now, about a year after the initial wave of Donald Trump partisans, things may be starting to change back. In a submission that ascended to the popular “hot” page, user Bugboi who was banned from the related r/WikiLeaks community at Reddit asks:
WikiLeaks has seemed more one-sided and less objective than it has ever been… My gut telling me the whole organizations been subverted … Am I crazy?
Concern over the partisan direction of WikiLeaks turns out to be quite popular, as one user after another voices reservations. Some believe that the head of WikiLeaks Julian Assange has been replaced or compromised. Others think that WikiLeaks is now working with the Republican Party. Here are some highlights from the comment section:
- USER totally6667 SAYS: Now he’s a blatant shill for trump And the Republican Party. It seems as if TPTB are trying to “merge” the conspiracy culture and lean them towards conservative values and Trumpism. “Sucking” us into the political spectrum, making us easier to control.
- USER Citizen90222 SAYS: Trump started it years ago with the “Birther” bull[]…… It’s where Trump cultivated his base and I think where he started his campaign. There were about a dozen conspiracy theories about Obama being pushed by right wing media outlets. Glen Beck was in on it, Alex Jones was in on it, it literally became an industry… The conspiracy community has basically become an extension of the communications apparatus of the Republican Party. Anyone doesn’t believe me? Look around.
- USER bpthrx SAYS: Because liberals wont acknowledge the blatant corruption within the Democratic party. Everyone already knows that Republicans are terrible.
- USER GreshamGhoul RESPONDS: Is that why Republicans control every branch of government? Because everyone knows?
- USER ThrowawayforBern SAYS: Honestly it seems that he was colluding with Trump and Russia. Now that Trump is pretty much about to be f[]ked, he’s keeping his distance. At the end of the day, it’s about the $$, and he’s not getting it from the taxpayer. He’s getting it from Russia or Trump. I guarantee it.
- USER Political_moof speaking on Russian collusion POINTS OUT: When will it happen if it does? Possibly years. The Watergate investigation took 2 years. The “where’s the evidence?!?!?!” crowd needs to learn how criminal investigations work. Mueller won’t be out on the street disclosing evidence or speaking about the timeline of the investigative efforts. That’s retarded.
- USER PiercePyrite SAYS: I mean Assange was once verifiably on Putin’s payroll. He had his own show on RT. The first place he took refuge was Moscow and his current asylum is granted by Ecuador, a country that has close ties to Russia and Iran and an increasingly troubled relationship with the US.
- USER Kind_Of_A_Dick 9 SAYS: The claim is that Wikileaks, and I’d assume Julian Assange himself, will never reveal their sources even in death. People say that’s to protect the sources and protect the family, but if that’s the case then they’re doing a piss poor job of it in regards to Seth. They’re trying their utmost to play the “we’re not saying it was him, but it was him” game publicly, which makes me believe either WL doesn’t care about releasing the identity of their sources or they’re intentionally obfuscating the actual source by deflecting suspicion towards a dead guy who can’t defend himself.
Constantly focusing on the real or perceived corruption of Democrats is so 2016. In 2017, Republicans have more power in the federal government than at any time since right before the Great Depression in 1929. Republicans then mostly refused to assist people after the crash. Republicans now share the same ideology, Donald Trump included. Just six months in, policy changes point in one direction: deregulation of business and deconstruction of programs for the people.
It’s Tea Party 2.0 — the brash, tough-talking outsider comes in promising change then delivers the establishment platform.
The conspiracy crowd — who describe themselves as the most “woke” members of society — may finally be starting to wake up and do the research. They are beginning to recognize Donald Trump for what he is: an establishment Republican — a LARP — a man who is merely “live action role playing” upon the American people — not an authentic outsider.