Maybe you have to be too online to “get” why this story is so funny, but I’ll try to explain it. This ginger man is Oliver Anthony. A few weeks ago, he and his song “Rich Men North of Richmond” were trending all over social media. The whole thing was bought and paid for by right-wing groups who were astroturfing their new conservative folk hero, someone who would sing the kinds of songs they want, songs about welfare queens and how white men can’t catch a break in this country. Here’s the song:

As I said, this song was artificially amplified and boosted by conservative media, and there was a rush to declare Anthony their new guy, despite widespread mockery of his message:

Well, it worked – “Rich Men North of Richmond” debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart this week and every QAnon-adjacent is breathless and delirious about it. The fact that Anthony also has a racist conspiracist history is a feature, not a bug, and apparently he was pretty active in the 9/11 conspiracy community. He is the white supremacist folk hero of their dreams, correct? Well, funny story:

Please, this is so funny. The guy playacting a racist hillbilly for profit is like “America’s best asset is our racial diversity” and what happens now? I don’t think it actually matters to his “fans.” Some of them will be mad that he’s not as racist as them, but the conservative campaign marches on.

Photos courtesy of YouTube.