What Internet Fandoms and Communities Can Tell Us About 2025

December 19, 2024:

Inevitably, more of these situations will pop up under the Trump administration, and I’m curious to see if any of Musk’s supporters end up jumping ship.

Drop-shippers

The act of drop-shipping—third-party sellers filling retail orders—exploded in popularity in the late 2010s, becoming a quintessential part of online hustle culture. With the introduction of the TikTok Shop, drop-shipping has entered a renaissance of sorts, with more and more people using the app to make quick cash that can scale.

Placing tough tariffs on Chinese imports was one of Trump’s biggest economic promises this election cycle. If TikTok isn’t banned come next month, Chinese tariffs could ruin the app’s drop-shipping profitability, since a majority of the product manufacturing is done overseas. What happens to the drop-shippers? Where do they go next?

The New Jersey Drone Hunters

Without much guidance or information from the government, conspiracy theories surrounding the mystery drones supposedly hovering over the eastern seaboard have gotten out of control. Just this week, Real Housewives star Bethenny Frankel posted a series of Instagram videos claiming to have a secret Pentagon source who told her that the drones are searching for nuclear material.

Now, I’m not claiming to know the truth about the drones, but I can see what it’s doing to people online. For the past few weeks, I’ve been monitoring one of the largest Facebook pages dedicated to solving the mystery, and what started as a place for folks to share their strange sightings has devolved into hysteria. Members are accusing the mods of working for the Feds of hiding the “truth” (whatever that is) and encouraging others to invest in iodine pills, gas masks, and, of course, toilet paper.

It’s too early to tell, but I’d bet that these groups are introducing already emotional and agitated people to theories they otherwise wouldn’t believe in. Is this what the alien and UAP communities have been waiting for? Maybe! In any event, don’t expect the faithful to believe anything the government says unless someone lays an alien corpse down in front of photographers.

The Chatroom

For the podcast last week, we made a few predictions for what the new year will bring. What do you think will happen next year as it relates to tech and its influence over politics? Send your thoughts to mail@wired.com.

WIRED Reads

Want more? Subscribe now for unlimited access to WIRED.

What Else We’re Reading

🔗 FTC Issues Rules Requiring Hotels, Ticket Sellers to Reveal ‘Junk Fees’: There’s at least one political win we can all celebrate this holiday season. This week, the Federal Trade Commission put out new rules banning hotels and ticketing services from hiding extra charges, or “junk fees.” (The Washington Post)

🔗 ‘It’ll Be Brutal’: Inside Trump’s Planned War on Leakers and the Press: The Trump administration is reportedly making new plans to go after the media, including more lawsuits and subpoena threats. (Rolling Stone)

🔗 Elon Musk and SpaceX Face Federal Reviews After Violations of Security Reporting Rules: The US government is reviewing whether Elon Musk and SpaceX have repeatedly ignored disclosure protocols protecting state secrets, like withholding information related to meetings with foreign leaders. (The New York Times)

The Download

When the newsletter went out last week, the last episode of the WIRED Politics Lab podcast hadn’t gone up. If you didn’t catch the conversation I had with Tim Marchman and David Gilbert, I recommend listening to it here.

Coming out of the election, I’m rethinking how the newsletter best serves you all. If you have any ideas or requests, let me know. Otherwise, I’m going to spend the holidays fully logged off, so you won’t see me hit your inboxes again until January 9.

I hope you find time to rest, read, and spend time with loved ones. I’ll see you in the new year. 💞

That’s it for today—thanks again for subscribing. You can get in touch with me via email, Instagram, X, and Signal at makenakelly.32.

Source link

tags

Abkhazia Afghanistan Africa Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Curacao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France French Polynesia Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guam Guatemala Guinea Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Northern Cyprus Norway Oman Pakistan Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Lucia Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Uganda UK Ukraine United Arab Emirates Uruguay USA Uzbekistan Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe