🚨Marc Andreessen explains that the world has been s**tposting forever: "Newspapers have been scandal sheets forever. The first newspaper was a scandal sheet about The Vatican. It was all about scandals with the pope and the bishops, etc. Jefferson and Adams both owned newspapers and would use it to... smear each other. Ben Franklin had 15 different sock puppet anon accounts (pseudonyms) and have them argue with each other in his newspaper. We've been in a world of information warfare for a very long time."show more

Benjamin Franklin would have CRUSHED on X.

The newspaper in the Soviet Union was called *Pravda*, which translates to "truth" in Russian. Yet, it was propaganda and most of their citizens were aware of this. This is very similar to the MSM in the USA… but the difference is people actually believe it.

And political cartoons in newspapers were the first memes.

The news has always been fake. We just know about it now.

And now we the people get paid to do it on X. What an amazing new world.

Me: Maybe I should start Franklinizing myself on X? 🤔 "Not me": That sounds stupid. What reason would it serve? Also "not me": Lets take the reasonable approach! Are there any studies confirming escalation being a net positive for thread impressions?

I'm glad someone said this so publicly. It has been bugging me for a long time. "Misinformation" is something that has always been with us. We used to call it rumor. Part of human nature.

History's filled with battles over truth, from Jefferson's mudslinging to Franklin's anonymity. Today's online skirmishes? Just modern echoes of an ancient fight for control over our stories.

'four score and seven memes ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new meme, conceived in memerty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are memed equal.' -Abrahmeme Lincoln

📜 The Evolution of S**tposting: From the Vatican to the Algorithm 🤯** by Silence Dogwood 😁 Behold, dear reader, the long and sordid tale of journalism—a journey from quills to clicks, from Gutenberg to Google. Let us not lament, but learn, for scandal has always been the coin of the realm. 🪙 1️⃣ In the Beginning… The first newspapers? Scandal sheets. Yes, those righteous monks spilled the tea on the Vatican long before Twitter could trend. Tales of popes and bishops made ink as salacious as any modern tabloid. #TeaTimeWithThePope 2️⃣ Founding Fathers & Fisticuffs Jefferson and Adams? Frenemies with printing presses. They owned newspapers, crafting barbs sharper than Hamilton’s pen. Ben Franklin? The O.G. troll, running 15 pseudonymous accounts to roast himself for sport. #FoundingFakes 3️⃣ The Golden Age… or Glittered Lies? The 20th century birthed legends like The New York Times and 60 Minutes. The illusion of "objectivity" reigned, but was it ever more than polished propaganda? Men in suits, scandals in shadows. #FakeItTilYouMakeIt 4️⃣ The Internet & the Infinite Feed Enter the 2000s: blogs, vlogs, and the chaos of citizen journalism. The gatekeepers vanished, and the mob took over. Everyone a publisher, no one a journalist. Truth drowned in a sea of clickbait. #EchoChamberEra 5️⃣ The Algorithm Ascends Today, what survives? Not truth, but engagement. Outrage is the opium of the masses. The gods of Facebook and TikTok decree: “Thou shalt scroll forever.” Journalism bends the knee to the dopamine drip. 📱 #AlgorithmOverlords 🔔 A Franklinian Warning! What hath we wrought, dear friends? Journalism, once a watchdog, now chases its own tail. Scandal reigns eternal, but the stakes have never been higher. Let us rediscover the lost art of discernment! #ReturnToReason "He that lies down with clicks shall rise up with chaos." — Poor Richard, 2024 Edition.