{"id":14397,"date":"2023-09-19T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-19T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/startups\/the-dark-economics-of-russell-brand\/"},"modified":"2023-09-19T11:30:01","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T11:30:01","slug":"the-dark-economics-of-russell-brand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397","title":{"rendered":"The Dark Economics of Russell Brand"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

There was a<\/span> brief, strange moment in 2015 when Russell Brand mattered in mainstream British politics. With an election looming, the opposition Labour Party was trailing in the polls against a coalition government that was the very definition of establishment\u2014led by an Eton- and Oxford-educated prime minister in David Cameron and his Westminster- and Cambridge-educated deputy, Nick Clegg, now president of global affairs at Meta. So the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, went seeking the endorsement of Brand, the actor, comedian, and emerging online provocateur whose anti-corporatist screeds to his 9.5 million Twitter followers and 100,000 YouTube subscribers gave him the appearance of a power player. Miliband got Brand\u2019s endorsement but lost the election.<\/p>\n

Since then, Brand\u2019s reach has exploded. His YouTube channel now has 6.6 million subscribers, his X account more than 11 million followers. But his anti-establishment message has morphed, from a broader, almost coherent response to the politics of fiscal austerity that shaped the UK after the 2008 financial crisis to a series of cultish, conspiracy-driven narratives that draw in Covid denialism, Russian disinformation, and the far-right-inspired \u201cGreat Reset\u201d theory, united by the meta-conspiracy that the mainstream\u2014the \u201celites\u201d\u2014have darker agendas based on control.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, the UK\u2019s Channel Four aired an hour-long documentary in which several women accused Brand of rape and sexual assault. Before the broadcast, the comedian came out swinging. In a video on his YouTube channel, titled \u201cSo, This Is Happening,\u201d Brand not only denied the accusations, but leveled some of his own: \u201c[It] makes me question, is there another agenda at play?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

One of Brand\u2019s alleged victims, speaking on the BBC, called his statement \u201cinsulting\u201d and \u201claughable.\u201d But within the alt-media, there was a show of support from figures including Andrew Tate, the misogynist influencer who is awaiting trial for rape and human trafficking in Romania, Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News anchor, who now runs a conspiracy-inflected show on X, and Alex Jones, fined $1.5 billion for lies about the victims of a school shooting. X\u2019s owner, Elon Musk, posted underneath Brand\u2019s video: \u201cOf course. They don\u2019t like competition\u201d\u2014referring, apparently, to those same dark forces referenced by the comedian. The camaraderie between conspiracy theorists, the alt-right, and the \u201cmanosphere,\u201d is grimly predictable. Their shared narrative is one of alienation from the mainstream, outsiderdom, and dark forces massing to thwart them. \u201cOpposite day, but with real consequences for people,\u201d as Marc Owen Jones, an expert on disinformation and social media at Hamad bin Khalifa University in Qatar, puts it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also their audience strategy and the foundation of their business model. Conspiracy influencers are content producers. Moments that generate intense emotions\u2014even if the content producer is, themself, the focus of the scandal\u2014are fantastic for engagement, and they feed the grim economics of the conspiracy business.<\/p>\n

Brand\u2019s YouTube channel is a compendium of contemporary bullshit. Covid lockdowns were exercises in social control. The US has \u201cbiolabs\u201d in Ukraine; the West\u2019s support for Ukraine is capitalist imperialism. Central bank digital currencies are the government\u2019s attempts to control your money. Evolving gender norms are causing a \u201ccrisis in masculinity\u201d and declines in fertility. There are routine crossovers between Brand\u2019s content and the wider conspiracy cinematic universe, with clips on his channels of conspiracy theorist Robert Kennedy Junior, far-right Hungarian president Viktor Orban, and Carlson, who recorded an interview with Brand in August.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There was a brief, strange moment in 2015 when Russell Brand mattered in mainstream British politics. With an election looming, the opposition Labour Party was trailing in the polls against a coalition government that was the very definition of establishment\u2014led by an Eton- and Oxford-educated prime minister in David Cameron and his Westminster- and Cambridge-educated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14398,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14397","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-startups"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Dark Economics of Russell Brand | Brandiary<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There was a brief, strange moment in 2015 when Russell Brand mattered in mainstream British politics. With an election looming, the opposition Labour\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Dark Economics of Russell Brand | Brandiary\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There was a brief, strange moment in 2015 when Russell Brand mattered in mainstream British politics. With an election looming, the opposition Labour\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Brandiary\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-19T11:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-19T11:30:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/RussellBrand-biz-GettyImages-1201790245-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"News Room\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"News Room\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"News Room\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5062dafb0f932b59aa228f1a047332f4\"},\"headline\":\"The Dark Economics of Russell Brand\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-19T11:30:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-19T11:30:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397\"},\"wordCount\":579,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Startups\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397\",\"name\":\"The Dark Economics of Russell Brand | Brandiary\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-19T11:30:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-19T11:30:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"There was a brief, strange moment in 2015 when Russell Brand mattered in mainstream British politics. With an election looming, the opposition Labour\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Dark Economics of Russell Brand\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/\",\"name\":\"Brandiary\",\"description\":\"Latest Business and Startup News and Updates\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Brandiary\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/b-logo-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/b-logo-1.png\",\"width\":381,\"height\":100,\"caption\":\"Brandiary\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5062dafb0f932b59aa228f1a047332f4\",\"name\":\"News Room\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/avatar_user_1_1688031660-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/avatar_user_1_1688031660-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"News Room\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Dark Economics of Russell Brand | Brandiary","description":"There was a brief, strange moment in 2015 when Russell Brand mattered in mainstream British politics. With an election looming, the opposition Labour","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Dark Economics of Russell Brand | Brandiary","og_description":"There was a brief, strange moment in 2015 when Russell Brand mattered in mainstream British politics. With an election looming, the opposition Labour","og_url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397","og_site_name":"Brandiary","article_published_time":"2023-09-19T11:30:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-09-19T11:30:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":670,"url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/RussellBrand-biz-GettyImages-1201790245-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"News Room","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"News Room","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397"},"author":{"name":"News Room","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5062dafb0f932b59aa228f1a047332f4"},"headline":"The Dark Economics of Russell Brand","datePublished":"2023-09-19T11:30:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-19T11:30:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397"},"wordCount":579,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Startups"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397","url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397","name":"The Dark Economics of Russell Brand | Brandiary","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-09-19T11:30:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-19T11:30:01+00:00","description":"There was a brief, strange moment in 2015 when Russell Brand mattered in mainstream British politics. With an election looming, the opposition Labour","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=14397#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Dark Economics of Russell Brand"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/","name":"Brandiary","description":"Latest Business and Startup News and Updates","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization","name":"Brandiary","url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/b-logo-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/b-logo-1.png","width":381,"height":100,"caption":"Brandiary"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5062dafb0f932b59aa228f1a047332f4","name":"News Room","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/avatar_user_1_1688031660-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/avatar_user_1_1688031660-96x96.png","caption":"News Room"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com"],"url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14397"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14399,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14397\/revisions\/14399"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}