Outrage for Profit and the Rise of Blue Anon

There are actions detailed in the Mueller Report — released in 2019 — that would have justified the impeachment of any President before 2016. The real issue between 2016 and 2019 wasn’t just that the illicit activities outlined in the report had been normalized; it was that the former President’s behavior had shifted the Overton Window so drastically that those activities seemed almost benign in comparison.

While a special counsel — appointed by Trump’s own DOJ — was absolutely merited, it also practically spawned an entire industry of left-wing punditry seemingly designed to drum up and exploit liberal outrage. Initially, this was rooted in real journalism: the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, and even Buzzfeed News did fantastic work digging up sources and excavating the details that informed the Mueller Report and, later, the facts leading to Trump’s first impeachment trial (and again, no other President would have survived that scandal).

But somewhere along the way, journalism gave way to something else: what began as dunking on Trump and his allies — admittedly entertaining — was soon co-opted by grifters who figured out how to monetize outrage. These grifters — what we now call “Blue Anon” — relied on telling liberals what they wanted to hear, rather than the truth, and kept upping the ante to sustain the outrage machine.

It started with the Krasenstein Brothers, the Palmer Report, and Louise Mensch. Then came, in my opinion, the worst of the bunch: MeidasTouch and The Lincoln Project. Both began as political SuperPACs, ostensibly designed to oppose Trump, but their primary function appeared to be raising money rather than getting anyone elected. The Lincoln Project gained credibility because it was founded by Republican campaign strategists—former McCain staffers and George Conway, Kellyanne’s husband. To some, this conservative tilt made them seem like principled actors “in it for the right reasons.” But their real motivator was clear: profit. They literally raised millions of dollars and used it basically to troll Donald Trump (sometimes by airing anti-Trump ads on Fox News in one market, the one where Trump lives), and it was hardly an effective campaign strategy.

MeidasTouch, meanwhile, raised millions as a SuperPAC before transitioning into a for-profit media company that benefits its founders. To sustain profitability, they require a constant stream of outrage. When the news cycle doesn’t provide it, they sometimes generate it themselves, propagating conspiracy theories that many otherwise rational liberals have sometimes taken at face value: Melania Trump body doubles, claims of Trump’s assassination attempt being a false flag, Elon Musk manipulating voting machines via Starlink, and even speculation about Silicon Valley overthrowing Trump to install J.D. Vance.

The next four years are likely to be challenging. Still, while Democrats focus on winning the midterms and reclaiming the White House in 2028, it’s critical to weaponize facts and reality against the Trump Administration. Fact-based journalism was vital in ensuring Matt Gaetz wouldn’t become Attorney General. The same reporting — combined with small grassroots actions like calling your Senator — must be deployed against figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kash Patel. (Those of us in Maine, Iowa, Alaska, and — insanely — Kentucky are best positioned to do that). We need to recognize the real threats and avoid being manipulated by outrage merchants who, despite being on “our side,” prioritize profit over progress.

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