The Broad View
·
SUBSCRIBERS

We should pay less attention to Current Thing-ism

In the Internet age, allegiance to the moral cause du jour can be transitory but criticism of it is often just as shallow

    • Elon Musk's tweet in March about the Current Thing duly went viral.
    • Elon Musk's tweet in March about the Current Thing duly went viral. REUTERS
    Published Sat, Jun 11, 2022 · 05:50 AM

    JEMIMA KELLY

    LOVE him, loathe him or laugh scathingly at him, there can be no denying that when Elon Musk speaks — or tweets, usually — the world pays attention. And so in March, when the world’s richest man tweeted a meme showing a character waving a Ukraine flag with the slogan “I SUPPORT THE CURRENT THING” encircling him, it duly went viral.

    The meme, whose featured protagonist is an “NPC” — a term from the gaming world that stands for “non-player character” and is used as a slur to mean someone who doesn’t think for themselves — was embraced enthusiastically by Musk’s fellow crypto-loving tech entrepreneur Marc Andreessen. He has tweeted about “The Current Thing” over 100 times.

    Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services