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At the very colloquialized level, the now-conventional promotion of specific doctrinal ideas, for social media has wrongly turned into a battlefield for the most heinous attacks. A short post used to promote the show and inform listeners about the app that contained a streaming option for the show 24/7. Once inside the comment book, however, the users felt compelled to descend to the level of personal attacks, wonder about various conspiracies, throw in politically induced grievances, and anything else unrelated.
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Levin is too big of a name in the center-right media world to be ignored. The man has practically written bestsellers on constitutional law and various political topics; the center-right media is huge, and his syndicated programming is nationally distributed. On top of those media avenues through which he distributes his shows, he also uses digital means. Yet, reactions to a mere routine promotion highlight just how violently polarized this sphere has become when it comes to media personalities.
The reactions ranged from sarcastic indifference to very personal insults. One user said, “No one wants to listen to an angry anti American bigot screaming into the mic for hours,” which, in essence, is the very sort of criticism that Levin often gets from his antagonists. Another user alleged that the app was worthless, saying, “Great download if you want to fall asleep in 30 seconds.”
Some comments took a turn from conspiracy topics. The user in question demanded that Levin resolve accusations of intentional stand downs and slaughter on October 7 with all caps and profanities. Therefore, it demonstrates how the wrongs against media personalities tend to become magnets for even wider political grievances.
Another lengthy reply accused Levin of being a “shill for Big Pharma” concerning vaccines for COVID-19,” and he allegedly supported “corrupt criminal leaders” in Israel. The statement insinuated drug deals and queried if Levin is “helping the millions permanently disabled & injured from the jabs you promoted.” That is to the full extent of how much vaccine distrust is still a powerful undercurrent within certain online communities.
Some of those comments issued the veiled threats, of which one ordered Levin to “get in the train car,” while another urged, “No. You will be rounded up with the rest,” with rhetoric evocative of historical persecution narratives. Another commenter even offered him “a plane ticket” to a desolate part of Russia, apparently suggesting Levin exit the country.
Amid all the animosity, a few supporters popped through. One commenter wrote, “Everyone needs to be listening to this guy, he’s on it all the time,” but for every positive comment, there were many more coming with criticisms.
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The antagonistic reaction to an app promotion attempt has much to say about the complicated milieu media personalities have to wrestle with these days, in a polarized society. Almost everything that comes out of a media personality’s mouth sends waves of condemnation, conspiracy theories, and personal attacks-waves that have nothing whatsoever to anyone’s memory of whatever was so innocently said at first. For a powerhouse like Levin, this is the kind of unpleasant publicity that comes with maintaining a loud voice at a divided time. That instance relegates digital spaces to arenas of bigger political and cultural battles, to the detriment of the minor consideration at hand.