Taylor Lorenz investigates the Hasan dog smear campaign and how it could relate to mass surveillance

This is not just another Hasan dog video. This video is about the concept of out-of-context video clips being used to smear political figures. Another example given in the video is Gamergate.

The video presents a dichotomy of mass surveillance, spreading truth vs spreading lies.

Just last month, billionaire soon-to-be TikTok owner Larry Ellison said that a vast AI-fueled video surveillance system would ensure “citizens will be on their best behavior, because we’re constantly recording and reporting everything that is going on.” The comment is a perfect encapsulation of the delusional fantasy pushed by so many in Silicon Valley: that the surveillance state will be used for good.

In theory, this should make it harder for bad actors to manufacture controversies. Such total visibility should make false accusations impossible. If everything is on record, then surely it would be easy for anyone to see the truth of the situation.

But the opposite is true. Instead of video being used as a tool to debunk conspiracies, it’s increasingly used as a tool to validate them. In Piker’s case, this has meant that an endless stream of years old clips are being repackaged and miscontextualized in order to further a politically-driven hate campaign. The dozens of out of context video clips spreading on social media, racking up millions of views, have become a digital Rorschach test.

https://www.usermag.co/p/hasan-piker-and-the-future-no-one (transcript)