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Anyone spending significant time online has encountered ads claiming “This one weird trick will …” do any number of things. Those ads manipulate the curiosity of the reader, leading to more ad clicks and more revenue for some business or other. Their annoyance factor is directly related to their effectiveness in drawing attention.

As we have all seen in recent times, this same technique is being used in public discourse. A good “hook” for an event, or better yet for a movement’s name, can draw a great deal of attention to the material being offered to people. In this setting though, “one weird trick” can do enormous societal damage.

Charlie Kirk built his movement

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