The last five years of social media-fueled populism around the world have been defined by former U.S. President Donald Trump and his imitators—but since he left office, things have begun to shift. The overtly nationalist 4chan-led online political movements that helped radicalize countries like the United States, Brazil, India, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom haven’t disappeared, but they’re regrouping away from the cultural spotlight. In their place, a new, more chaotic online identity movement has emerged championing meme stocks, cryptocurrency, and unabashed technological and economic excess. It was once limited to the tech sector—but now, one of its main adherents is running a country.
In the United States, this movement is exemplified by the billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who uses his Twitter account to swirl together a dizzying mix of aspirational science content and unhinged memes. Many of Musk’s followers believe that if they just put their faith in him and his companies, he’ll bring them all into a glorious future where everyone’s a billionaire. Musk’s followers call him “daddy,” and Tesla workers have even thanked him when he’s laid them off. A central part of Musk’s appeal has recently been the meme-based cryptocurrency Dogecoin, which Musk touted aggressively between March and May this year.
