The populist right has adopted the same tactics of manufacturing racial controversies that it once condemned from the left
Source: Conor Friedersdorf. "The Right Is Becoming What It Hates - The Atlantic." February 27, 2026. www.theatlantic.com
The Gist
The author argues that right-wing figures are now doing exactly what they used to criticize liberals for - creating fake racial controversies from misleading video clips. When Gavin Newsom talked about his learning disabilities, they twisted his words to make it seem racist, which is hypocritical since they condemned the left for similar tactics.
Conclusion
The populist right is becoming what it hates by engaging in the same irresponsible social media pile-ons and false racial accusations that it previously criticized the left for doing
Premises
- Gavin Newsom was falsely accused of racism based on a misleadingly edited video clip that removed crucial context
- The accusations were amplified by prominent right-wing figures including Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr., and multiple Republican senators
- The original video showed Newsom discussing his dyslexia struggles to a racially diverse audience, not making racially condescending remarks to Black people
- This incident mirrors previous controversies like Covington Catholic where the left irresponsibly seized on out-of-context clips to manufacture racial outrage
- Many of the figures promoting these false accusations are the same people who previously condemned the left for manufacturing racial controversies
Assumptions
- Manufacturing false racial controversies is inherently wrong regardless of which political side does it
- Political movements should maintain consistency in their principles and tactics
- Social media pile-ons based on misleading information cause harm to public discourse
- Context matters when evaluating potentially offensive statements