Ashley St Clair on trans rights, immigration, Elon and more
+ Liquid content, choppelgangers, influencer lobbying, YouTube's vibecession, a $2,500 viral fleece, Gen Z's it vacation spot, China’s hottest app, the Diary of a CEO red pill pipeline, and Nigel Fara
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Until recently, Ashley St Clair was a star in the conservative influencer world. She built a large following by leaning into culture-war rhetoric and boosting MAGA policies. She worked for Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA and gained national attention by publishing an anti trans Children’s book.
Ashley was welcomed into the upper echelons of right-wing media and activism, and her proximity to power on the right deepened when she began a relationship with Elon Musk, who she later had a child with.
But lately, her public posture has begun to shift. After Grok, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, began to flood the internet with nonconsensual deepfake content undressing Ashley and countless other women (and children), she became increasingly outspoken in her criticisms of Musk and unchecked AI development.
In her posts, she also suggested that some of her other earlier views on things like trans rights, have changed.
I sat down with Ashley to talk about her political evolution, the internet, the conservative influencing world, Maga 1.0 vs MAGA 2.0, the right wing pipeline, Elon Musk, and how her positions on issues like LGBTQ rights, healthcare, and immigration have changed.
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What I’m reading
Washington’s New Lobbyists: Paid Online Influencers
With Few Rules Corporate and foreign interests pour money into getting pro-Trump social-media stars to push their causes. - WSJ
The YouTube Vibecession
By the numbers, everything is going great for creators. So why are so many of them scared it’s all about to fall apart? - NY Mag
The Hottest Spot for Sunday Church Is a MAGA Dive Bar
Saturday night, Penn Social is your typical Washington DC dive filled with conservative 20-somethings. Come Sunday morning, it’s still a hot spot—by the name of King’s Church. - Vanity Fair
Right-Wing Influencers Have Flooded Minneapolis
Clips from creators in Minnesota have become primary evidence in attempts by the right wing to justify ICE’s surge on American cities. - WIRED
The Son King of Hollywood
With help from his billionaire father, Larry, David Ellison is trying to become the biggest studio mogul in history. - NY Mag
The Dangerous Paradox of A.I. Abundance
Silicon Valley envisions artificial intelligence ushering in an era of economic plenty. But what if the benefits are largely confined to corporations and investors that own the technology itself? - New Yorker
What Comes After the Protests?
The killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis will continue to bring people to the streets. Can it bring change? - New Yorker
No, liberals were not right about Trump
Contrary to what the catchphrase would have you believe, they were dead wrong. - The People’s Line
Inside the algo-reform: how Jack Anderton became Nigel Farage’s Gen Z whisperer
The 25-year-old “TikTok guru” remains a mysterious figure in the press, rarely giving quotes to journalists. Yet his role in building Nigel Farage’s platform online has been undeniable. Is Jack Anderton the most important unelected advisor of his generation? - The Face
User Mag news rundown
China’s hottest app is a daily test of whether you’re still alive.
Gen Zers and millennials in the U.S. listen to about 3 hours of AI-generated music per week.
Pete Davidson is getting a Netflix podcast called “The Pete Davidson Show.”
The author of Heated Rivalry is set to release a highly anticipated sequel.
Celebrity protein brands are the new celebrity beauty line.
Steven Bartlett, the 33-year-old British host of the self-help podcast The Diary of a CEO, is increasingly pushing right wing, anti-feminist rhetoric.
These 2007 Etsy staff outfits are amazing.
Eric Adams launched a crypto coin focused on “combatting anti-semitism,” then did a rug pull and walked away with millions.
The majority of teenagers oppose cell phone bans.
The $2,500 viral fleece that’s hijacking people’s feeds. (Yet no one wants $1,000 designer brand T shirts anymore.)
“Choppelganger,” a new Gen Z slang insult, is a mashup of “chopped” and “doppelgänger.” The term describes someone who looks almost exactly like you, just noticeably worse.
Publishers are pivoting toward “liquid content” aka “content or stories that are not static but adapt in real time based on the viewer’s context, location, time, or interaction.
Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman filed for bankruptcy, crumbling under billions in debt.
Marseille, France is the new “it” vacation spot for Gen Z.
Men’s Health did a big feature on Tucker Carlson’s quest to become a nicotine mogul.
The FBI searched a Washington Post reporter’s home who was investigating Trump.
Roblox’s homepage is the new hot advertising space.
Disney Plus is launching a TikTok-style vertical video feed.
CBS News is preparing a new segment called “Whiskey Fridays with Tony Dokoupil”, a knockoff of a popular Daily Wire show.
In an era where listening to music largely happens via streaming services, in-person listening parties are becoming super popular.
A lot of young Gen Z men got mega rich off meme stocks.
American high schools are teaching free-market capitalism in classrooms, attempting to change young people’s inclinations towards more collective economic models while they’re young.
A majority of young voters now reject both parties.
Millennials increasingly have negative views of technology and the internet (much of this is due to the media).
Craigslist might be the last real place on the internet.
How veganism, which was once on the upswing, lost out to the mega powerful meat industry.
MTV Rewind is a site that let’s you watch old music videos from the classic days of MTV.
Mattel released their first autistic Barbie doll.
Rockstar Games classified the term "Charlie Kirk” as profanity and banned it.
Homes are becoming more grey:
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