Achieving TRUE Media Literacy

Answering listener questions for the last week of May

Highly Respected took Memorial Day off, so we will answer some of the Cognitive Elite’s questions today in WRITTEN-form. The rest of the questions will be answered in tomorrow’s mailbag. If you would like to submit questions, just sign up for the COGNITIVE ELITE subscriber option.

Now for the questions.

Jersey Guy

1) How do you balance healthy skepticism of mainstream media without falling into a right wing echo chamber that is often characterized by hucksters. I'll admit that for business news, I really only rely on the WSJ, CNBC or Bloomberg since reputable people within the business world will only speak to those outlets. Publications like Zero Hedge are a total joke and often publish nonsense including articles from the Epoch Times. Even Fox Business is quite low quality. Curious to hear your thoughts from someone who worked directly in media.

It’s worth reading both mainstream news and what you see on X. Back in the day, Twitter was the best news source. You didn’t even need to bother looking at mainstream outlets because you got all the news—whether from establishment or alternative sources—in your feed. Now all you get in “Concerned Citizen” posts about how how the pyramids were built by space aliens to hide pedophile cults and endless propaganda from our own side. You really have to go to either Drudge Report or the CNN homepage to find out what news the rest of the country is hearing. X becomes its own kind of bubble. What people fixate on X is usually very different from the “normal” news, which is different from the Twitter days.

You should still be skeptical of mainstream media, but the issue is that the Right hasn’t fielded a solid alternative. There are a few accounts that do a great job countering the MSM’s falsehoods without descending into Insane Clown Party territory. But a lot is slop from Indian content farmers sharing AI clips and braindead conspiracy theories. Conservative media is less invested in trying to offer a serious alternative to the MSM. Many conservative sites now take days to report on good news stories that go viral on X. They do little original reporting. Conservative media has mostly pivoted to video, which is not the best format for quickly finding out what’s going on.

On the plus side, X , unlike Twitter, deemphasizes left-wing fake news. But our own side has gotten a bit out of hand in pursuit of higher payouts.

We all rightfully mock “media literacy” on our side as libs deploy it to demand people obey the MSM. But the Right does need its own version. It’s depressing to think of how many of our own people fall for AI videos.

The best attitude is a general skepticism of everything you see. You really have to do your own work to find out what’s going on. In terms of mainstream news, I say the Wall Street Journal is the best source. It’s worth reading the New York Times just to see what information the public is receiving. X still has value in keeping up with the news, but I would never go to the “For You” tab. You will get inundated with content farmers. As long as you avoid following those types, the “Following” tab will still give you decent information. You just need to be more cautious about what you’re seeing compared to a few years ago.

2) What are the best methods for attracting younger, high achieving "right-coded" people to the South and Red States in the Midwest and West? Contrary to what you read on X, there are still a lot of younger "right-coded" people growing up in the suburbs of NYC, Boston and Chicago who may not be explicitly conservative but like the vibes of SEC and Big Ten schools and other similar institutions. I don't think the Ron DeSantis approach of explicit broad cultural attacks on institutions like Disney work very well with normies but I was wondering if there are more subtle approaches that can be done.

Younger, right-coded people are already moving to the South due to the fun reputation of SEC schools and the better job opportunities. The Midwest is in economic decline, so it’s harder for these states to attract young college grads from elsewhere. In some ways, this is why the region is getting redder as its libtards are moving elsewhere. The entire West Coast is libtard, so I don’t know if we want our people moving there.

It’s already happening naturally. The South is going to grow in terms of economic might and political power in the coming years. The major blue cities (NYC, San Francisco, LA, DC, Chicago) will still matter and attract the highest tier of “elite human capital.” But Red Sunbelt States will play a bigger role as more people flee from the North and the West Coast.

CostcoFrank

To what extent has the right captured the hot girl demographic? This seems like a big deal with ripple effects across the broader culture.

I don’t think we have. I would say the “hot girl demographic”—at least what you can see on social media—is more apolitical than it was during peak woke. But the influencers they follow haven’t gone to the Right. The biggest female pop stars still endorsed Kamala. I don’t remember any big mainstream female influencer going for Trump.

Some women are getting into more right-wing stuff through MAHA, but I wouldn’t say we’ve captured this demographic. Young women voted overwhelmingly for Kamala. It’s more the bros we’re winning over than the hot girls.

Arm Day Enjoyer

I recently saw two videos pop up in my recommended with two different guys explaining why they each moved to Russia. One was a half Hispanic veteran who thought the US government was backwards and the other basically said the US was a sinking ship. Is the reason for moving due to the fact they have always felt out of place in America, much like the online right?

I didn’t see these videos, but I assume they’re Russian propaganda. However, there are plenty of people in the Online Right who claim they would rather live in Russia than America. It’s clear that these people feel out of place in America, but they would experience the same feeling being a foreigner in another country. “Grass is always greener on the other side” is a common delusion.

I will eventually write about the Right’s “Dissenting American” mentality at some point. The Online Right’s complicated relationship with mainstream America is worth exploring.

Ken

Scott, I still use y’all in everyday conversation. Should I stop?

If you’re southern and natural for you, no. It should only not be used if it’s unnatural and you’re not southern. I don’t really say y’all anymore because of how it’s been taken over by cringe outsiders. It’s also not that natural for me as I didn’t really grow up saying it. I think it’s okay to keep using it if it’s how you talk.

New England Refugee

Would you ever do a history on the Pinkerton men for an IQ supplement and what are your quick thoughts on the Pinkerton Security Agency?

Maybe. I would probably do something on America’s labor unrest in the late 19th/early 20th century. That heavily involved the Pinkertons, so I would discuss them at length.

I don’t have very strong opinions on them. I’m not anti-Pinkerton. They were often necessary to catch criminals and deal with labor unrest. Besides that, I haven’t formed a solid view of them. An IQ supplement would set one down.