Bad advice given on the internet

cool story

Everyone knows that every mistruth you peddle on the internet, goes onto a big list, and when you die and meet St Peter* at the pearly gates, you have to answer for your mistruths.

*It's actually not been St. Peter since 1986 (Chernobyl), and now it can be any one of the 3 of either Peter Beardsley, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, or Hulk Hogan…

It blocks your drains though.

🤔Hulk Hogan isn't dead……..

No idea who he is so wouldn't known. Just know that Hulk Hogan was out supporting Trump the other week so unless something had happened, he was defo still alive.

Who was paying him to say it though?

Surely wrong misinformation is a good thing?

" the other boys started it Mammy"…. 🤣🤣🤣

These folks are a bad place to get advice on the internet alright. There is an interesting podcast called “Decoding the Gurus” where an Irish anthropologist and a psychologist developed a (non-scientific) scale where these grifters like Russel Brand, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jordan Peterson, etc can be compared. They rate them based on the following categories:

1. Galaxy Brain-ness: Presenting ideas in a way that makes them seem profound, when they're actually nonsense or trivially true. Presenting oneself as a polymath with unique special knowledge or wisdom. Over-use of hot takes and inappropriate references to academic literature or science concepts.
2. Cultishness: Unhealthy positive relationship dynamics within "special" in-group, flattery, emotional manipulation. Not necessarily a full-blown cult.
3. Anti-establishment: Distrust of mainstream media and scientific experts. If they happen to be right about something, then they must not fully understand why they're right.
4. Grievance Mongering: Cultivating a sense of victimhood and oppression among followers. The mainstream supposedly suppresses their special ideas or insights. Like fascist movements, the in-group is heavily motivated by narratives of oppression by out-groups.
5. Self-aggrandisement and Narcissism: Grandiose narcissism combined with a lack of self-awareness.
6. Cassandra Complex: Continually predicting calamities that the mainstream media and so-called "experts" supposedly never see coming and that could be avoided by listening to "special" people. Ignoring incorrect predictions and dwelling on predictions that supposedly came true.
7. Revolutionary theories: The guru or group claims to have developed revolutionary paradigm-shifting intellectual or scientific theories, like Einstein's theories of Relativity.
8. Pseudo-Profound Bullshit: Rhetoric that seems profound and easy to understand but is actually nonsensical. (Again) using "sciencecy" rhetoric to sound profound or deep.
9. Conspiracy Mongering: Appealing to conspiracy theories to explain the suppression of ideas. Giving a platform for conspiracy theorists and presenting them as having some important ideas that are unfairly dismissed by the mainstream (and, of course, giving a disclaimer that you don't agree with everything someone says).
10. Profiteering: The level of grifting or focus on selling books, courses, merchandise, etc.

The results:

Nobody's forcing anybody to watch content they don't like, if you dont agree with what someone says people are free to do something else instead

It's called free speech. When someone spouts rubbish supporting things like Brexit or Trump sensible people need to do a better job of pointing out the errors.

Sensible people pointing don't stand a chance against paid targeted propaganda, being hammered into the brains by an algorithm working day after day after day, hour after hour after hour.