Darren Beattie goes off the reservation about Lex Fridman and the power of the algorithm

Glenn Greenwald interviews Revolver's Darren Beattie about their new expose piece of Lex Fridman

"Lex Fridman is who you wake up to when you fall asleep listening to a podcast."

Ever had this happen to you? I certainly have. As someone who consumes a lot of news and information via Internet and particularly video hosting websites, YouTube among them. No other podcaster gets as much attention from and has had algorithms springboard them to popularity like Lex.

Beattie gives an interesting breakdown of exactly what Lex is, how the MIT-A.I. researcher claims are false and spurious and the shocking, unexplainable deference other EXTREMELY POPULAR podcasters seem to show Lex Fridman.

In particular Beattie referenced a moment where Joe Rogan gives Lex his favorite watch, a clip which has since gone viral.

(Linked from YT BUT NOT Lex's account, hah)

The whole thing is definitely surreal.

One possible answer to the "why" part of this is that the algorithm seems to push content like Lex, Ben Shapiro and Jordan Peterson to folks who have sought out "spicy" right-leaning content that would clash with the current corporate and government sponsored narratives.

Susan Wojecki of YouTube references this answering a question during a lecture she gives at Google, specifically mentioning the data shows that Shapiro tends to 'lower the temperature' on those specific types of people, almost acting as a calming panacea for those who are looking for right-wing truths that are hotter (and y'know more truthful)

In other words these people are promoted by the algo because there is a proven deradicalizing effect shown from pushing their content onto a certain base of users.

Beattie describes it almost like a chaser to the shot of whatever "harsher" content the user originally sought out and if you've ever listened to any of these IDW (intellectual dark web) types this makes sense.

They market themselves as clear-eyed intelligencia who have nuanced views and most importantly, are willing to disagree with prevailing narratives even if someone doesn't like it. BUT IS THAT REALLY WHO THEY ARE? FOR EXAMPLE CAN YOU IMAGINE ANY OF THESE PEOPLE BEING CANCELLED OR CENSORED FOR THEIR SUPPOSEDLY 'OUTSIDE MAINSTREAM' VIEWS?

No.They are controlled opposition for midwits. Just there to give a faux edginess in appearance and occasional soundbites when in fact they have totally common, mainstream views on nearly everything and offer very little that actually deviates from the centrist, by the book takes. Let alone anything revolutionary.

In this time of fifth generation warfare, where the battle is being fought for your attention and your mind, its important for us to recognize and point out these type of phony constructs who offer nothing of actual value or deviation from the corporate/university/government allied word bank of acceptable viewpoints.

They want to show us "radicals" who deradicalize. We can't let them control us this way and allow ourselves to submit to these constructed individuals who say a lot of things that sound good but offer nothing truly meaningful or actionable.

Darren Beattie deserves credit for continuing to find and expose these sorts of topics (like the J6 pipebomber story) which fall through the cracks.