T. Kenny Fountain
@tkennyfountain.bsky.social
Associate Professor of English, UVA. Scholar of rhetoric (old & current), studying conspiracy theory belief, disinformation, extremism, and visual media. Writing a book, Imagining Conspiracy Theories.
Pinned
Project MUSE - Presencing, Immersion, and Community: How Conspiracy Theory Belief Is Kindled Online
muse.jhu.edu
To all new followers, I'm a scholar of rhetoric who studies conspiracy theories and extremism. Writing a book, Imaging Conspiracy Theories. Most recent work is this co-authored article. "Presencing, Immersion, and Community: How Conspiracy Theory Belief Is Kindled Online" muse.jhu.edu/article/949121
Reposted by T. Kenny Fountain
Personally, I think it's a bad thing when people in the government post AI images without disclosing that they're AI.
Image on the left is something RFK Jr. posted today. Image on the right is a photo from 2024.
Image on the left is something RFK Jr. posted today. Image on the right is a photo from 2024.
November 27, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Personally, I think it's a bad thing when people in the government post AI images without disclosing that they're AI.
Image on the left is something RFK Jr. posted today. Image on the right is a photo from 2024.
Image on the left is something RFK Jr. posted today. Image on the right is a photo from 2024.
Reposted by T. Kenny Fountain
This is who we're deporting while we're importing sex traffickers like the Tate brothers and white supremacists who are nostalgic for Apartheid.
I feel much safer today knowing that we deported a Babson College student back to a country where she hasn't lived since childhood.
She wasn't even flying internationally. She was flying to Texas.
She wasn't even flying internationally. She was flying to Texas.
A Babson College student wanted to surprise her family for Thanksgiving. She was deported instead. - The Boston Globe
Any Lucia Lopez Belloza was at Logan to catch a flight to Texas when immigration authorities detained her as she was about to board the plane.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:58 PM
This is who we're deporting while we're importing sex traffickers like the Tate brothers and white supremacists who are nostalgic for Apartheid.
Reposted by T. Kenny Fountain
US military action in Venezuela seems imminent as Americans are distracted by Thanksgiving.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/24/p...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/24/p...
Trump administration formally designates Venezuela’s Maduro as member of a foreign terrorist organization | CNN Politics
The Trump administration could have expanded authority to take action in Venezuela starting Monday, as the US designates Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his government allies as members of a f...
www.cnn.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:27 AM
US military action in Venezuela seems imminent as Americans are distracted by Thanksgiving.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/24/p...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/24/p...
Reposted by T. Kenny Fountain
"But with revelations about Mr. Trump’s relationship to Mr. Epstein mounting, the default QAnon position has become that Mr. Epstein just isn’t that interesting anymore." - @willsommer.bsky.social
Opinion | Why the Epstein Story Is So Awkward for QAnon
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:52 AM
"But with revelations about Mr. Trump’s relationship to Mr. Epstein mounting, the default QAnon position has become that Mr. Epstein just isn’t that interesting anymore." - @willsommer.bsky.social
Reposted by T. Kenny Fountain
somehow i don't think president harris would be launching an explicit war for oil
Rep. Salazar on Venezuela: "We're about to go in ... we need to go in ... Venezuela for the American oil companies will be a field day"
November 24, 2025 at 9:55 PM
somehow i don't think president harris would be launching an explicit war for oil
It seems that X has already disabled the location feature that identified where users's were located. Not at all suspicious.
November 23, 2025 at 10:30 PM
It seems that X has already disabled the location feature that identified where users's were located. Not at all suspicious.
Reposted by T. Kenny Fountain
X rolled out a new feature overnight showing where accounts are based. This network of “Trump-supporting independent women” that claimed to be “real Americans” are based in Thailand.
The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
November 23, 2025 at 12:55 PM
X rolled out a new feature overnight showing where accounts are based. This network of “Trump-supporting independent women” that claimed to be “real Americans” are based in Thailand.
The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
In her video announcement that she is resigning from Congress, Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks directly to the QAnon community. 1/4
www.cnbc.com/2025/11/21/m...
www.cnbc.com/2025/11/21/m...
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene will resign after fallout with Trump
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene supported a bill compelling the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files by the DOJ, putting her on the bad side of President Trump.
www.cnbc.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:55 PM
In her video announcement that she is resigning from Congress, Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks directly to the QAnon community. 1/4
www.cnbc.com/2025/11/21/m...
www.cnbc.com/2025/11/21/m...
Reposted by T. Kenny Fountain
AOC to @pabloreports.bsky.social : A swastika is one of the clearest symbols of hatred in all of humanity… to remove that designation… indicates a possible collaboration with those very elements, which I think is genuinely frightening to any American.
November 21, 2025 at 12:00 AM
AOC to @pabloreports.bsky.social : A swastika is one of the clearest symbols of hatred in all of humanity… to remove that designation… indicates a possible collaboration with those very elements, which I think is genuinely frightening to any American.
Excellent thread by @eliothiggins.bsky.social that pinpoints the failure of Yarvin's hollow ideology.
I watched Yarvin’s Sheldonian lecture. What struck me is that he’s describing real institutional failures, but he completely misdiagnoses the cause. He treats “democracy” as the problem, when the actual collapse is upstream.
See also Curtis Yarvin's remarks in a recent Oxford lecture:
"Say what you want about MBS, he's quite an effective king I think in a lot of different ways. Um love the Ritz thing, the whole Saudi embassy thing, I don't know, but I mean he was a journalist". [Giggles]
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXYl...
"Say what you want about MBS, he's quite an effective king I think in a lot of different ways. Um love the Ritz thing, the whole Saudi embassy thing, I don't know, but I mean he was a journalist". [Giggles]
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXYl...
November 20, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Excellent thread by @eliothiggins.bsky.social that pinpoints the failure of Yarvin's hollow ideology.
Reposted by T. Kenny Fountain
Huge @tinanguyen.bsky.social scoop: Trump is preparing to try and ban all state AI laws, going so far as having Brendan Carr’s FCC pull rural broadband funds from states that try to regulate AI www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Here’s the Trump executive order that would ban state AI laws
Trump is launching an all-out broadside against states with strict AI regulations.
www.theverge.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Huge @tinanguyen.bsky.social scoop: Trump is preparing to try and ban all state AI laws, going so far as having Brendan Carr’s FCC pull rural broadband funds from states that try to regulate AI www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Reposted by T. Kenny Fountain
This is indeed what happens when billionaires like Jeff Bezos dictate the contents of the opinion pages of @washingtonpost.com
What a fall for a once good newspaper! I have never regretted canceling my subscription after he nixed the Kamala Harris endorsement.
What a fall for a once good newspaper! I have never regretted canceling my subscription after he nixed the Kamala Harris endorsement.
November 18, 2025 at 1:37 PM
This is indeed what happens when billionaires like Jeff Bezos dictate the contents of the opinion pages of @washingtonpost.com
What a fall for a once good newspaper! I have never regretted canceling my subscription after he nixed the Kamala Harris endorsement.
What a fall for a once good newspaper! I have never regretted canceling my subscription after he nixed the Kamala Harris endorsement.
Reposted by T. Kenny Fountain
They started dismembering him while he was still alive
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
November 18, 2025 at 11:48 PM
They started dismembering him while he was still alive
This op-ed is advocating for a military invasion and a war. This is war propaganda.
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com
“I’ve been outspoken in calling on the administration to act against Nicolás Maduro’s dictatorship” in Venezuela, Bret Stephens writes. “With war looming, possibly within days, it’s worth making the case again — and thinking through the ways it could go wrong.”
“I’ve been outspoken in calling on the administration to act against Nicolás Maduro’s dictatorship” in Venezuela, Bret Stephens writes. “With war looming, possibly within days, it’s worth making the case again — and thinking through the ways it could go wrong.”
Opinion | The Case for Overthrowing Maduro
Thinking through the case for intervention in Venezuela.
nyti.ms
November 18, 2025 at 2:10 PM
This op-ed is advocating for a military invasion and a war. This is war propaganda.
Reposted by T. Kenny Fountain
Spare me the "Marjorie Taylor Greene has changed" bullshit.
Marjorie Taylor Greene to Dana Bash: "You should have Nick Fuentes on your show"
November 18, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Spare me the "Marjorie Taylor Greene has changed" bullshit.
Reposted by T. Kenny Fountain
So if AI succeeds loads of people lose their jobs as they're replaced by AI, and if AI fails, loads of people lose their jobs as the economy crashes?
It’s amazing how this story has gone from 0 to 60 in UK press. There’s been no mainstream coverage to date but this morning the story is leading BBC News site & bulletins.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Google boss Sundar Pichai warns 'no company immune' if AI bubble bursts
Speaking exclusively to BBC News, CEO Sundar Pichai said the artificial intelligence boom had been an
www.bbc.co.uk
November 18, 2025 at 10:14 AM
So if AI succeeds loads of people lose their jobs as they're replaced by AI, and if AI fails, loads of people lose their jobs as the economy crashes?
Reposted by T. Kenny Fountain
Reposted by T. Kenny Fountain
"When an off-camera female reporter... began to ask if there was anything 'incriminating' in the Epstein emails, Trump pointed a finger in her face. 'Quiet. Quiet, Piggy,' he said menacingly."
Tell me again how it's women who are ruining the workplace?
people.com/donald-trump...
Tell me again how it's women who are ruining the workplace?
people.com/donald-trump...
Donald Trump Snaps at Female Reporter Who Asks About Epstein Files: 'Quiet Piggy'
Donald Trump Says 'Quiet Piggy' to Female Reporter Asking About Epstein Files
people.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:37 AM
"When an off-camera female reporter... began to ask if there was anything 'incriminating' in the Epstein emails, Trump pointed a finger in her face. 'Quiet. Quiet, Piggy,' he said menacingly."
Tell me again how it's women who are ruining the workplace?
people.com/donald-trump...
Tell me again how it's women who are ruining the workplace?
people.com/donald-trump...
Reposted by T. Kenny Fountain
Mark Epstein (Jeffrey’s brother):
“The reason they’re gonna be releasing these things, the reason for the flip is that they’re sanitizing these files. There’s a facility in Winchester, Virginia where they’re scrubbing the files to take Republican names out”
“The reason they’re gonna be releasing these things, the reason for the flip is that they’re sanitizing these files. There’s a facility in Winchester, Virginia where they’re scrubbing the files to take Republican names out”
November 18, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Mark Epstein (Jeffrey’s brother):
“The reason they’re gonna be releasing these things, the reason for the flip is that they’re sanitizing these files. There’s a facility in Winchester, Virginia where they’re scrubbing the files to take Republican names out”
“The reason they’re gonna be releasing these things, the reason for the flip is that they’re sanitizing these files. There’s a facility in Winchester, Virginia where they’re scrubbing the files to take Republican names out”
Sadly, we should all know who Nick Fuentes is (as Carlson interviewed him and MTG continues to defend him). This interview with John Ganz @lioneltrolling.bsky.social is great!
November 17, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Sadly, we should all know who Nick Fuentes is (as Carlson interviewed him and MTG continues to defend him). This interview with John Ganz @lioneltrolling.bsky.social is great!
Can't wait to read this preprint article critiquing the standard "polarization narrative" by @aurelmondon.bsky.social and his colleagues. Great thread on the article here.
The ‘polarisation narrative’ simplifies complex issues by constructing a spectrum where good should be found in the middle of diametrically opposed political positions
New preprint article by @juanroch.bsky.social, @daniel-balinhas.bsky.social and I
1/
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
New preprint article by @juanroch.bsky.social, @daniel-balinhas.bsky.social and I
1/
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
(PDF) A critique of the polarisation narrative: Expanding the limits of democracy, parties and political participation
PDF | To cite: Roch J, Balinhas, D and Mondon A (2025) 'A critique of the polarisation narrative: Expanding the limits of democracy, parties and... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on R...
www.researchgate.net
November 17, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Can't wait to read this preprint article critiquing the standard "polarization narrative" by @aurelmondon.bsky.social and his colleagues. Great thread on the article here.
Reposted by T. Kenny Fountain
It's remarkable that the number of news analyses/pundit takes that the Democrats are too extreme--out of touch, too focused on divisive cultural issues, too beholden to progressive orthodoxy--far exceeds the articles on the Trump/GOP's connections to the far right. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/u...
Trump Defends Tucker Carlson After Nick Fuentes Interview
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 11:45 AM
It's remarkable that the number of news analyses/pundit takes that the Democrats are too extreme--out of touch, too focused on divisive cultural issues, too beholden to progressive orthodoxy--far exceeds the articles on the Trump/GOP's connections to the far right. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/u...
Reposted by T. Kenny Fountain
A very depressing read
Viktor Orbán’s Hail Mary.
I was editor in chief of Hungary’s most-read independent daily until a pro-government media network bought the newspaper. It’s the fifth time in thirty years that politics has cost me my job—and it’s ...
www.cjr.org
November 17, 2025 at 12:58 PM
A very depressing read
Reposted by T. Kenny Fountain
I've been saying for a while that when a real conspiracy emerges the Conspiracy Theory Complex will be some of the least interested people in it, because the point of the Conspiracy Theory Complex is not to discover conspiracy but to create rationales to justify untenable beliefs.
Alex Jones on encountering actual gay frogs: “NOTHINGBURGER it’s a Nothingburger on Top of Bottom Nothingburger!”
November 15, 2025 at 8:31 PM
I've been saying for a while that when a real conspiracy emerges the Conspiracy Theory Complex will be some of the least interested people in it, because the point of the Conspiracy Theory Complex is not to discover conspiracy but to create rationales to justify untenable beliefs.