Unherd of memes full#
Unherd of memes series#

As RCP historian Evan Smith has pointed out, itвЂ™s the Grampa Simpson approach to politics. ItвЂ™s the left more broadly that has lost its way. These people are real, traditional leftists, weвЂ™re told. But seven years on, the tactics are the same. Nevertheless, weвЂ™re told that this new generation of Spiked hangers-on are different. And anyway, surely no one in their right mind would think of calling Brendan OвЂ™Neill вЂњleft-wingвЂќ in 2022. That feels like ancient history, in political terms. Leigh Phillips also returned the favour by writing a defense of Spiked for the Zer0 blog, which he titled вЂњIn defense of reading widelyвЂќ, but which was nothing more than a sycophantic ode to Brendan OвЂ™Neill (of enormous forehead meme fame) that has aged so terribly it is now genuinely hilarious to read. Zer0 2.0 and Spiked also engaged in something of a useful idiot exchange, with a dozen Zer0 authors writing articles for the website, including Ashley Frawley, Angela Nagle, Mike Watson, Philip Cunliffe, George Hoare and Christine Louis Dit-Sully, to name but a few. Even as Zer0 3.0 attempts to distance itself from that era, the lingering and sadly binding contracts from Doug LainвЂ™s tenure include the likes of LGB Alliance bigot Don Milligan.

Beyond the constant appearances on each otherвЂ™s platforms and podcasts, the main headlines are that Frank Furedi and Luke Gittos were both published by Zer0 2.0, with FurediвЂ™s book being particularly popular with the UK far-right. For a long time, Zer0 was the most blatant example.

Unherd of memes full#

In the past, people have claimed my assertions that Spiked and Zer0 are linked are tenuous, but it seems that few actually now the full scope of this network and its incestuous вЂњyou scratch my back, IвЂ™ll scratch yoursвЂќ approach to media appearances and co-signs. Though some may argue that itвЂ™s all in the service of вЂњknowing your enemyвЂќ, this is just a continuing pattern of behaviour where edgelords continue to platform each other, and they always end up being someone who is a stoneвЂ™s throw from Spiked Online. This isnвЂ™t much of a scandal in and of itself the podcast is pretty inoffensive, allowing Fox and others to make themselves sound presentable and reasonable over the course of an utterly toothless hour-long conversation.

Unherd of memes series#

This was made newly apparent by a series of вЂњunlockedвЂќ posts from old Zer0 2.0 allies, The Popular Show, chatting up old RCP member and now Baroness Claire Fox (along with a few other Unherd columnists and the like). But they are all the more dangerous because of it, in being far more easily absorbed into the bloodstream of the body politic.

In fact, since Zer0 2.0 was bought out, the attempts have been far more fragmented. This isnвЂ™t to suggest there has been some new concerted effort, however. I made it three whole months without prodding any of the old Spiked Online / Zer0 2.0 network - as was my New Years resolution - but their creeping influence in the UK, as more people try and copy the US model of edgelord political podcast, is a disaster for leftist media in this country, and it (still) deserves challenging whenever it tries to take another drive at legitimacy.

Based on two Twitter threads from earlier, gathered together for posterity.