"Donald Trump seems to have come back from the future. From that dystopian and bleak tomorrow toward which some seek to lead us, taking advantage of the growing polarization and the prevalence of emotions over rationality. From that digital realm characterized by the rise of social media, now made stronger and more chaotic by the explosion of generative artificial intelligence. Ezra Klein recently discussed this on his podcast with the journalist and activist Masha Gessen."
"The United States has undergone a paradigm shift in the last year: Biden felt fundamentally of another era, a politician of the past who was governing as a caretaker of the present. Trump is hypermodern [] a human being turned into a spectacle, a fully inhabited persona, Klein states. The current occupant of the White House lives for the show, as we analyzed in Chapter 2 of this series."
"He has managed to master the new channels and media outlets that define communication in the 21st century. It's unclear whether Trump has learned the codes and styles of digital communication, or if they simply suit his personality perfectly. What is certain is that they allow him to spread his message like wildfire; to keep his loyal base engaged; and to unsettle his opponents."
A paradigm shift occurred in the United States in the past year: Biden is perceived as a politician of a previous era governing as a caretaker, while Trump embodies hypermodern spectacle. Trump functions as a fully inhabited persona who lives for the show and has mastered 21st-century channels and media outlets. Digital platforms and generative AI have amplified social media dynamics, enabling rapid message spread, loyal base engagement, and opponent disruption. Communication today follows a digital logic evident in content, form, and attention capture strategies. Techniques such as rage bait, enshittification, memeification, and parasocial dynamics both reflect and accelerate this feedback loop.
Read at english.elpais.com
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