Tiger King follows the life of Joe Exotic, a deranged, gay, redneck zookeeper from Oklahoma, and the drama that has ensued because of his long-time rivalry with Animal Rights activist Carole Baskin.
During the course of his career, Joe began to utilize the burgeoning social media platform to draw attention to himself by launching a vicious smear campaign, threatening and embarrassing Baskin in any way he could, stretching and manipulating the truth in order to put himself on a pedestal by putting her down.
While Exotic used homemade videos, uploaded to facebook, on a very small scale, the Trump administration hired Brad Parscale, who pushed a quite similar campaign on a massive scale, all over the internet through targeted digital advertisements.
The 2016 election elevated a modern political tactic of propaganda by flooding the internet with a massive amount of disinformation, favorable to Donald Trump, in the form of digital ads, mass texts, fake news website, any sly tactic possible to present sensationalist information to destroy any opponent standing in his way.
Donald Trump had maintained a cultural relevance as a shady businessman for decades before deciding to run for president of the United States, and his potent, polarizing personality was perfect for catching the eyes of millions, just like Exotic's name now is nearly inescapable on social media. Initially, a veteran reality TV producer named Rick Kirkham seized the opportunity to try and profit off of the larger than life personality of Exotic, giving him a larger platform, and better grip on social media, and I find a parallel with Brad Parscale in the way that he has taken advantage of his superior knowledge in the field of social media to contribute massively to the success of Donald Trump as a conservative candidate.
The layout of apps such as facebook, allow for sensationalist news and ideas to get widely spread and push by the various algorithms. A rapidly growing number of Americans simply do not trust the mainstream media, perhaps with good cause, there has been evidence of corruption, bias, and errors in the media for as long as it has existed, however, the Donald Trump administration has flown in like a vulture to this weakness in the power of media to launch a counter-media, based on social platforms, providing "alternative facts" and researching any possible dirt on Trump's political opponents, distributing misinformation to millions.
The American people are so skeptical of the mainstream media, that many simply do not care what the fact of the matters are, so long as the person they support speaks with conviction and believes in themself.
The American people, as I have seen first-hand with some of my peers, praise Donald Trump for "speaking his mind" and his lack of political correctness, because they are tired of the mediation in the media, and any break from that seemingly deceitful power structure is refreshing.
It doesn't matter that the president says a hundred lies a minute (which is verified by websites such as snopes and politifact constantly), to his supporters, this likely makes him look more attractive. I have friends who are incredibly loyal to the president, despite knowledge of his dishonesty and crookedness. The fact that what Trump says is wrong is not a deterrent for his supporters, the mere fact that it is contrary to what everyone else is saying is what makes him so attractive.
Trump, like Exotic, has a sense of humor, is vulgar, and fiercely attacks any opponent in his way, both are extremely polarizing, but in a way charismatic, which easily entices millions, who aren't fiercely opposed to what they are doing ethically.
Using information given by Cambridge Analytica, the campaign Parscale spearheaded used emotionally manipulative tactics, such as quizzes to largely target right-leaning white Americans to feel victimized and attacked in what seems to be a left-dominated nation.
By creating a narrative of a "silent majority", which pushed the idea of a seemingly oppressed, American society whose rights are being stripped away because of the rights that minorities and women are gaining, the Trump Campaign capitalized on the fear and insecurities of conservatives, which seemingly drove them to action in a far more militant way than I've ever seen in my lifetime.
The exploitation of social media by Parscale, combined with Trump's cult of personality, has made for one of the most unusual political campaigns ever seen, and so far, has destroyed any opponent he has faced. The internet noise pollution tactic may quickly become the dominant method of campaigning for all future candidates, and the death of truth may be a nasty side effect of the adoption of social media.
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