Why the Internet’s Nastiest Men Keep Talking About ‘The Matrix’

The first thing Andrew Tate did after his arrest on Romanian human trafficking charges was to complain about “the Matrix”—a shadowy power structure hell-bent on taking him down for, well, some unspoken reason.

He is, of course, not the first one to use this term—it’s an emerging meme in right-wing spaces online, says Fever Dreams host Will Sommer on this week’s episode. Even Logan Paul, the YouTube provocateur and wannabe boxing star, has thrown out the theory to push back on critics after a particularly bad week of PR which began with the discovery of an abandoned pig he apparently once owned.

The point of “the Matrix” is to nod at a global conspiracy, much like QAnon’s “cabal,” but specifically interested in thwarting the spread of “traditional” masculinity (which is often expressed by people like Tate through outright misogyny).

“It’s sort of a more Trumpian version of what he calls the ‘deep state,’” Sommer says. “I think ultimately this is really being adopted by guys who don't have a direct political valence, they’re just sort of generally awful... In Andrew Tate’s case, I think he kind of has to invent a new villain because otherwise it doesn’t really make sense.”

Also on the episode, Sommer and co-host Kelly Weill investigate the origins of a new front in the culture war: gas stoves.

A study showing that the fumes from gas stoves are potentially harmful for residents’ health was wildly spun by Republicans and right-wing media into an impending door-to-door confiscation of kitchen equipment—an incredibly improbable situation, Weill says.

“No, none of this is actually going to happen, and both sides know it, but it acts as this placeholder drama in the doldrums of the news cycle until something better comes along.”

What Comes Next for the ‘Diamond and Silk’ Media Empire?

Then, in the podcast’s “Fresh Hell” segment, the hosts discuss the “sovereign citizen” movement and its recent turn toward mysticism—including the mysterious red fingerprints adherents are including on legal documents.

Listen, and subscribe, to Fever Dreams on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.

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