Episode description

Feels Good Man filmmakers Arthur Jones and Giorgio Angelini show us how a great meme can go bad — and how to take it back again.

Rushkoff, Angelini, and Jones explore the evolution of Matt Furie’s Pepe the Frog from stoner frog to alt-right meme. When did internet culture became real-world culture? How did a community of trolls who wanted to manipulate reality end up effecting physical space? When was the moment that fan fiction became mainstream?

In his monologue, Rushkoff addresses the cycle of bad faith arguments amplified by Twitter that end up destroying real conversation — and many talented people’s credibility. “Once you cross over into the land of make-believe facts — however earnest you believe your intention is — it undermines not only your argument, but the whole social fabric. It undermines our entire collective quest as human beings to figure out what the heck is really going on here.” Rushkoff says.

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