TR.BIZ: 7.3.2025

Your late-mid-week check-in 💫

Welcome to the revamped TR.BIZ, your midweek look into top stories, trends, and more of what’s happening online and off. Today, we’re discussing themes of rage bait in politics and work along with sequelitis across movies and fashion. Upgrade your subscription for the full post.

🏛️ Politicultural: Deep Blueanon

As the Big Beautiful Bill fumbles toward (hopefully not) the finish, another conversation is emerging from the left that is an example of the distraction vacuums and self-gaslighting of these times: are migrants being dropped out of planes in shackles? Following the real story of shackled corpses washed up in the Mediterranean, Americans are connecting that story with migrants being deported to other countries (which is poised to become an economy in and of itself, thanks to a recent Supreme Court decision). Many, many a viral post is circulating on the subject, with one now restricted video getting almost a million likes on TikTok. As one person observed of the phenomena, calling attention to the issue, “You know how I know you’re full of shit? [...] You’re all here on TikTok talking about it instead of doing something.” Therein lies the problem: like the larger Democrat system, is leftism now just pointing out problems and doing nothing about it? Is this not gossip for people who read Bell Hooks? The story is based in truth but, as many Americans neglect (and are wont to do), Southern Europe has a long history of migrant deaths and other nefarious activities as those in the global south seek a new life in the north: it’s a horse of a different color — but not “ICE dumping bodies.” What this Blueanon shenangigan exposes is a lack of action by those on the left and an ignoring of real goings on similarly at the fringes of the country, given similar situations happening in Texas with some frequency. Where’s the urgency there? Meanwhile, Kilmar Abrego Garcia has spoken up about being tortured as Alligator Alcatraz opens. Happy July 4! What a brutal time to be smart.

• What can you do about this? Clearly, these are unstable times — and it’s a particularly unstable time for information. As brands, businesses, communicators, and anyone “online,” really put your sources out there — and be careful with how you play with humor now. Nothing is real but everything is real, which is an awful combination.