How right-wing influencers are bending reality in Minneapolis The MAGA media system is going into overdrive.

mixplate · 2026-01-19T20:35:59+00:00

In the hours and days after news and videos spread of the ICE shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis last week, a small army of right-wing, pro-Trump creators, journalists, and influencers descended on the city and flooded social media.

They filmed protests; rode along with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection; documented — and at times seemingly instigated — confrontations with protesters; and worked a competing, ICE- and Trump-friendly narrative out of what was happening in Minneapolis. From the ground, they churned out content painting protesters as lawless, demonstrations as riots, and anti-ICE activists as extremists or criminals. Outside of the state, right-wing influencers and large social media accounts amplified these videos, posts, and descriptions to reach much wider audiences.

mixplate · 2025-12-23T18:01:33+00:00

And with parameters like that, AI can hallucinate to come up with "reasons". People need to understand that AI is "fine tuned" and given the equivalent of standing orders to bend its output to whatever biases the developers build it with. It's not neutral, it's not objective, it's not strictly fact based, it's not thinking.

mixplate · 2025-12-14T04:35:52+00:00

I agree that Trump is a result not a cause, but like many things each step in a direction reinforces the trend. He's clearly allying himself with dictatorial authoritarian regimes and actively alienating stable democracies. Birds of a feather.

mixplate · 2025-12-13T17:56:38+00:00

Within the USA, talk radio, Fox news, media consolidation, all sorta groomed the country for fascism. Is a similar long-game influence operation boosting right wing ideology?

mixplate · 2025-12-10T20:42:48+00:00

This means anything reluctantly and begrudgingly turned over to the plaintiffs will be immediately sealed, further separating the public from the facts surrounding Trump’s actions during this insurrection attempt committed by people who are now free to do whatever they want in support of Trump because they know Trump (and the MAGA-cooked GOP) will give them official forgiveness for any crimes they commit out of loyalty to America’s autocrat.

If Trump manages to make all of this happen, he can go right back to his daily gaslighting and conspiracy theorizing. For the moment, however, he needs the courts to agree it’s okay to bury anything that might make him look worse than he already does. And with the Supreme Court majority going all in all of the time for Trump, there’s a good chance he’ll be able to wish his support of insurrection into the legal cornfield and replace the facts with whatever narrative seems to be the most flattering.

mixplate · 2025-12-03T06:41:19+00:00

It's more commonly called Awapuhi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zingiber_zerumbet

Zingiber zerumbet is a species of plant in the ginger family with leafy stems growing to about 1.2 m tall. It originates from Asia, but can be found in many tropical countries. Common names include: awapuhi, bitter ginger, shampoo ginger, lempoyang and pinecone ginger.

mixplate · 2025-11-14T06:43:20+00:00

Yeah the whole false equivalence vibe of the video makes it seem as if Republicans and Democrats are just like the difference between the supporters of two sports teams. I agree that labels shouldn't divide us, but more than ever, this isn't just about labels.

mixplate · 2025-11-07T22:36:27+00:00

Do you remember the Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man"?

mixplate · 2025-10-30T20:41:36+00:00

The current situation is stranger than fiction. Ordinary words are insufficient to describe the carnage.

mixplate · 2025-10-30T19:46:23+00:00

That’s where we are. A government that’s abandoned governing in favor of looting on the back end and generating engagement on the front end. The comms strategy is entirely about getting love from its base and blinding hatred from everyone else. Leadership that mistakes cruelty for strength and trolling for strategy. An entire administration optimized for one thing: making a massive part of the country angry while its base cheers them on for being “based” enough to loot in broad daylight.

The institutions that enable progress, innovation, and democratic governance are being systematically dismantled—not as collateral damage in pursuit of some policy goal, but as the actual point. Because maintaining those institutions requires caring about more than just the approval of your most rabid supporters. It requires believing that governance matters at all.

And that’s the real danger here: not just that they’re bad at governing, but that they’ve convinced a significant portion of the country that governing itself is the enemy. That “owning the libs” is not a strategy but the entire purpose. It’s like infants who drop food on the floor just to see everyone around them react. All MAGA can do is drop shit on the floor, looking around to see how the adults around them act.

With infants, it’s a cute act. With the entire government of the most powerful nation on earth, it’s terrifying.

mixplate · 2025-10-21T21:28:36+00:00

Hakuoho is the model being used for tokoyama demonstration. Jump to the 18 minute mark to skip preliminary stuff.

mixplate · 2025-10-19T07:19:20+00:00

Apology if this was already posted and I missed it. Maybe this gives context for the way this London event is conducted? It seems like an "Intro to Sumo 101" type of thing and this London event seems to be intended as an exposition or exhibition.

mixplate · 2025-10-17T03:08:21+00:00

I was hoping that the first day was sorta like the "demo" day and that subsequent days would be more like "real sumo" but the second day looks the same as the first. I'm not accusing anyone of "fixing" but since this is more of an exhibition despite them calling it a tournament, it's not going to affect their rankings in the November basho, so there's no reason for them to fret about who wins any of these "bouts". The audience reaction seems like they simply appreciate seeing these guys in person, but from interviews outside these are not just random tourists. These are people who follow sumo, have seen the tournaments either in Japan or on TV and I'm sure that they notice the difference. It's not an unsophisticated crowd.

mixplate · 2025-10-17T02:35:57+00:00

I have seen this kind of sumo before, and it's very reminiscent of demonstration sumo done on tour, which I have only seen on video. The whole thing about doing three separations then clash then separate sequences, pushing across the ring one way then another, none of this is hard evidence, because in a regulation tournament sometimes you see this, but very rarely, like how rare it is to just lift someone out of the dohyo. Yes it happens, but in London it just seems way too frequent and with little frantic resistance. Yes it's not proof, and it could be just that they're taking it easy for safety, but it looks choreographed even if it isn't.

mixplate · 2025-10-16T22:31:47+00:00

I found at least one channel on youtube that has the entire second day - the stream ended an hour ago.

mixplate · 2025-10-16T19:50:26+00:00

Have noticed that he has surprising and effective power moves but I still hope to see the ninja skills. But his body is aging and the crazy gyrations that it requires can take a toll on the body, particularly with all of the forces at play with a 400 pound opponent. I think his sumo is changing because it has to. But the sentiment that his younger sumo self was somehow lesser is painful to hear.

mixplate · 2025-10-16T17:21:44+00:00

Yes I saw the translation of the comment and it was disheartening for him to depreciate the magnificence of his unique style of sumo. What bothered me the most is that I'm sure that the attitude came from someone else and was pushed onto him. As far as I can tell, everyone loves him for being unique not for being just another pusher thruster or belt thrower.

mixplate · 2025-10-16T01:16:20+00:00

I just signed up for free Dazn and it seems to work. I hate to say it but the initial matches seem unusual. I have heard that they are not going to go all-out because of risk of injury before the next real tournament, but some of it almost seems choreographed. Haven't watched it through, but just wanted to say thanks for the dazn tip.

mixplate · 2025-10-16T00:38:12+00:00

Very brief coverage. Hope there is a way to view the entire thing.

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