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581 <div id="content" class="site-content"> 582 583 <div id="primary-header" class="page-header singular-page-header th-flex th-flex-wrap th-w-full th-bg-secondary-lightest sm:th-mb-3xl th-mb-lg"> 584 585 <div class="container th-self-end sm:th-py-3xl th-py-lg th-stack--lg"> 586 <h1 class="entry-title sm:th-text-7xl th-text-3xl th-max-w-md">Thoughts on political and religious âinfluencerâ culture</h1> <div class="entry-meta"> 587 <span class="byline"><img referrerpolicy="no-referrer" alt='Douglas Ernst's avatar' src='https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D96&r=PG' srcset='https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D96&r=PG 1x, https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=144&d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D144&r=PG 1.5x, https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=192&d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D192&r=PG 2x, https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=288&d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D288&r=PG 3x, https://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1163168df5c643f030b29b78d09abca72d2369b2463479db324f7eaca1cbd748?s=384&d=https%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D384&r=PG 4x' class='avatar avatar-96' height='96' width='96' decoding='async' />Written by <a href="https://douglasernst.blog/author/dougernst/" rel="author">Douglas Ernst</a></span> 588 <p class="inner th-mb-0 th-text-sm"> 589 <span class="posted-on">Posted on <time class="entry-date published" datetime="2026-03-27T12:55:44-07:00">March 27, 2026</time><time class="updated" datetime="2026-03-27T13:00:42-07:00">March 27, 2026</time></span> </p> 590 </div><!-- .entry-meta --> 591 </div><!-- .container --> 592 </div><!-- #primary-header --> 593 594 595<div class="container th-flex th-flex-wrap"> 596 <main id="main" class="site-main th-w-full th-bordered-stack--lg sm:th-mb-3xl th-mb-lg"> 597 598 599<article id="post-40202" class="th-stack--lg post-40202 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-the-kitchen-sink tag-christianity tag-douglas-ernst tag-faith tag-history tag-politics-2 tag-religion"> 600 <div class="entry-content th-content"> 601 602<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A lot has happened in the years since your friendly neighborhood writer was regularly posting on WordPress. Elections were won and lost. Twitter became X. Most of the people who were laughed at as conspiracy theorists were vindicated, and a nation in debt got much, much, much deeper in the hole.</p> 603 604 605 606<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Today, however, Iâd like to speak on the rise of paid âinfluencerâ culture on social media â and the throngs of wannabes who take cues from âstarsâ without ever seeing fame and fortune (all while cultivating atrocious personality traits often correlated with success). More specifically, Iâd like to talk about the realms of political and religious influencers. </p> 607 608 609 610<p class="wp-block-paragraph">What one tends to see across social media is that most popular influencers in these spheres are brimming with self-righteousness, shun nuance, and always on the hunt for more content to mine for attention, clicks, and the revenue that comes from manufacturing outrage.</p> 611 612 613 614<p class="wp-block-paragraph">All of this makes sense when it comes to politics because, on some level, we expect political junkies to behave that way. The bar, sadly, is quite low. What is fascinating, however, is the lack of self-awareness that various Christian âinfluencersâ have as it pertains to their chosen pathâs deleterious effect on the cultivation of virtue.</p> 615 616 617 618<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It does not take long peruse through Christian gathering places on X to see members of various denominations rhetorically tearing each other apart. <em>Humility?</em> Nowhere to be seen. <em>Charity?</em> Missing in action. <em>Discernment?</em>
618 Not much.</p> 619 620 621 622<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Christian âinfluencersâ often spend an inordinate amount of time getting into fights and then making everything about themselves (as opposed to, you know, Christ). They often act like the very same busybodies successfully mocked in the 1980s, which ushered in an era of Clintonian liberalism in the 90s.</p> 623 624 625 626<p class="wp-block-paragraph">On the political front, influencers who initially start out level-headed eventually become caricatures of themselves as they begin to believe their own hype. They start chasing algorithms, which reward those who strip commentary of all nuance. Truth becomes an afterthought because channels transmute into altars to ego and ideology.</p> 627 628 629 630<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It becomes increasingly difficult to root out whatâs real and relevant in various news cycles because the individuals pushed into feeds by social media companies engage far more in a WWE-type ideological wrestling match than anything resembling a search for <em>truth.</em></p> 631 632 633 634<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In short, it seems as though those who yearn for wisdom will have the best luck by looking for refuges of the influencer-fatigued because it is in the small, hidden corners of the internet where humility has an opportunity to thrive. Nuance, similarly, can be found in the crevices of the online world where individuals puffed up on their own egos would never deign to crawl.</p> 635 636 637 638<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While I do enjoy streaming to <em><a href="https://www.iconiccomics.com/soulfinder">Soulfinder</a></em> readers on YouTube and interacting on X, I find myself increasingly drawn back to WordPress as a safe haven from monetized rage and the money that flows from moral preening.</p> 639 640 641 642<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Thanks, as always, for reading.</p> 643 644 645 646<p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p> 647 648 649 650<p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p> 651<div id="atatags-120314175-6ac933f3524e2"> 652
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I'm a USC Trojan with an MA in Political Science from American University.</p><p class="author-link-container th-mb-0 th-mt-2xs th-text-secondary-base th-links-inherit"><a class="author-link th-font-normal has-arrow" href="https://douglasernst.blog/author/dougernst/" rel="author">View all posts by Douglas Ernst</a></p><ul class="author-links th-inline-block th-links-inherit th-list-none th-leading-none th-mb-0 th-ml-0 th-mt-md"><li class="th-inline-block th-text-secondary-base th-mr-sm"><a href="https://dougernst.wordpress.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><svg class="svg-icon th-fill-current" width="16" height="16" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" viewBox="0 0 16 16" fill="currentColor" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M6.5 10.995V14.5a.5.5 0 0 1-.5.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5v-7a.5.5 0 0 1 .146-.354l6-6a.5.5 0 0 1 .708 0l6 6a.5.5 0 0 1 .146.354v7a.5.5 0 0 1-.5.5h-4a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V11c0-.25-.25-.5-.5-.5H7c-.25 0-.5.25-.5.495z"/><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M13 2.5V6l-2-2V2.5a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h1a.5.5 0 0 1 .5.5z"/></svg><span class="screen-reader-text">Personal website</span></a></li></ul><!-- .author-links --> 703 </div> 704 </div> 705 </footer><!-- .entry-footer --> 706 </article><!-- .hentry --> 707 708 <nav class="navigation post-navigation" aria-label="Posts"> 709 <h2 class="screen-reader-text">Post navigation</h2> 710 <div class="nav-links"><div class="nav-previous"><a href="https://douglasernst.blog/2024/07/03/soulfinder-tunnel-hounds-now-available-at-iconic-comics/" rel="prev"><span class="meta-nav primary-font th-block th-mb-xs th-text-secondary-base th-text-sm">Previous Entry</span> <span class="post-title th-font-normal">Soulfinder: Tunnel Hounds now available at Iconic Comics!</span></a></div></div> 711 </nav> 712 </main><!-- #main --> 713 714 715<aside id="secondary" class="widget-area sidebar-section th-w-full th-stack--lg th-text-sm sm:th-mb-3xl th-mb-lg"> 716 <section id="freshly_pressed-4" class="widget widget_freshly_pressed"><a href="https://wordpress.com/discover/" title="Featured on Freshly Pressed"><img src="https://s0.wp.com/i/badges/freshly-pressed-rectangle.png?m=1391188133i" width="200px" height="62px" /></a> 717</section><section id="follow_button_widget-6" class="widget widget_follow_button_widget"> 718 <a class="wordpress-follow-button" href="https://douglasernst.blog" data-blog="12031417" data-lang="en" >Follow Douglas Ernst Blog on WordPress.com</a> 719
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Elections were won and lost. Twitter became X. Most of the people who were laughed at as conspiracy theorists were vindicated, and a nation in debt got much, much, much deeper in the hole. Today, however, Iâd like⦠Continue reading Thoughts on politica […]'>Thoughts on political and religious âinfluencerâ culture</a></li><li><a class='rsswidget' href='https://douglasernst.blog/2024/07/03/soulfinder-tunnel-hounds-now-available-at-iconic-comics/' title='There seems to be something about releasing a new installment of the Soulfinder series that brings me back to this little old blog. My musings on politics and pop culture here opened up job opportunities, introduced me to solid dudes who Iâm still in touch with today, and put me on the path that ultimately⦠Continue reading Soulfinder: Tunnel Hounds now avai […]'>Soulfinder: Tunnel Hounds now available at Iconic Comics!</a></li><li><a class='rsswidget' href='https://douglasernst.blog/2022/11/17/soulfinder-infinite-ascent-released-succeeds-on-its-own-merits-zero-boogeymen-needed-for-new-readers/' title='It was one year ago that your friendly neighborhood blogger-turned-YouTuber-turned-indie comics creator came out with Soulfinder: Black Tide. The May 2021 piece I penned upon its release talked about zigging while others zagged; the series about combat veteran exorcists skipped crowdfunding and went straight to the Iconic Comics website. Soulfinder: Infinite […]'>Soulfinder: Infinite Ascent released, succeeds on its own merits: Zero boogeymen needed for new readers</a></li><li><a class='rsswidget' href='https://douglasernst.blog/2021/05/01/soulfinder-black-tide-iconic-comics-and-the-case-for-zigging-while-others-zag/' title='The release of 'Soulfinder: Demon's Match' in 2019 and 'Soulfinder: Black Tide' in 2021 shows that there is no single blueprint for indie comics success.'>âSoulfinder: Black Tide,â ICONIC Comics, and the case for zigging while others zag</a></li><li><a class='rsswidget' href='https://douglasernst.blog/2020/12/27/a-thank-you-to-marian-rose-world-mission/' title='A global pandemic. Lockdowns. Looting. Riots. Presidential politics. The U.S. faced numerous challenges in 2020, which seemed to bring out the worst in a lot of people. All of it was chronicled on social media (platforms that in many ways reward division and hate). Your friendly neighborhood blogger, however, was blessed to start off the⦠Continue reading A […]'>A âThank Youâ to Marian Rose World Mission</a></li><li><a class='rsswidget' href='https://douglasernst.blog/2020/11/22/dan-slott-exposed-by-tom-brevoort-in-marvel-616-episode-we-use-the-term-work-loosely-when-it-comes-to-dan/' title='Regular readers of this blog know that for years I have said Marvelâs Dan Slott is more of an âidea manâ than a writerâs writer. Iâve said that he spends far too much time ranting and raving on social media â or opining on plans that arenât scheduled to take place for another 100 issues⦠Continue reading Dan Slott exposed by Tom Brevoort in âMarvel 616â epis […]'>Dan Slott exposed by Tom Brevoort in âMarvel 616â episode: âWe use the term âworkâ loosely when it comes to Danâ</a></li><li><a class='rsswidget' href='https://douglasernst.blog/2019/09/24/dan-slott-marvel-elite-hypocrite-lectures-indie-creators-on-professionalism/' title='Dan Slott's unprofessional behavior was in many ways the catalyst for "Comicsgate," but he now wants to lecture indie creators on tact and decorum. Classic!'>Dan Slott, Marvel-elite hypocrite, lectures indie creators on professionalism</a></li><li><a class='rsswidget' href='https://douglasernst.blog/2019/06/18/soulfinder-demons-match-crosses-10k-i-love-it-when-a-plan-comes-together/' title='"Soulfinder: Demon's Match" by Douglas Ernst crossed the $10K barrier it needed in funding in four days. '>âSoulfinder: Demonâs Matchâ crosses $10K: âI love it when a plan comes togetherâ</a></li><li><a class='rsswidget' href='https://douglasernst.blog/2019/06/14/soulfinder-demons-match-is-live-on-indiegogo-now/' title='"Soulfinder: Demon's Match" is live on Indiegogo. The comic on combat vet exorcists is written by Douglas Ernst â with art by Timothy Lim and Brett R. Smith.'>âSoulfinder: Demonâs Matchâ is LIVE on Indiegogo NOW</a></li><li><a class='rsswidget' href='https://douglasernst.blog/2019/06/10/soulfinder-demons-match-trailer-for-ju
769ne-14-indiegogo-launch/' title='"Soulfinder: Demon's Match" by Douglas Ernst â with art by Timothy Lim and work by colorist Brett R. Smith â launches on June 14. Watch the trailer now.'>âSoulfinder: Demonâs Matchâ trailer for June 14 Indiegogo launch</a></li></ul></section></aside><!-- #secondary --> 770</div><!-- .container --> 771 772 773 </div><!-- #content --> 774 775 <footer id="colophon" class="site-footer th-py-lg th-bg-secondary-lightest"> 776 <div class="container th-stack--lg"> 777 <div class="footer-widget-area th-flex th-flex-wrap th--mx-sm th-stack-full--lg"> 778 <section id="blog_subscription-9" class="widget widget_blog_subscription jetpack_subscription_widget footer-widget th-w-full th-px-sm"><h2 class="widget-title th-text-lg th-mb-sm th-font-normal"><label for="subscribe-field-2">Follow via Email</label></h2> 779 780 <div class="wp-block-jetpack-subscriptions__container"> 781 <form 782 action="https://subscribe.wordpress.com" 783 method="post" 784 accept-charset="utf-8" 785 data-blog="12031417" 786 data-post_access_level="everybody" 787 id="subscribe-blog-2" 788 > 789 <p>Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.</p> 790 <p id="subscribe-email"> 791 <label 792 id="subscribe-field-2-label" 793 for="subscribe-field-2" 794 class="screen-reader-text" 795 > 796 Email Address: </label> 797 798 <input 799 type="email" 800 name="email" 801 autocomplete="email" 802 803 style="width: 95%; padding: 1px 10px" 804 placeholder="Email Address" 805 value="" 806 id="subscribe-field-2" 807 required 808 /> </p> 809 810 <p id="subscribe-submit" 811 > 812 <input type="hidden" name="action" value="subscribe"/> 813 <input type="hidden" name="blog_id" value="12031417"/> 814 <input type="hidden" name="source" value="https://douglasernst.blog/2026/03/27/thoughts-on-political-and-religious-influencer-culture/"/> 815 <input type="hidden" name="sub-type" value="widget"/> 816 <input type="hidden" name="redirect_fragment" value="subscribe-blog-2"/> 817 <input type="hidden" id="_wpnonce" name="_wpnonce" value="36d8830454" /> <button type="submit" 818 class="wp-block-button__link" 819 > 820 Follow </button> 821 </p> 822 </form> 823 </div> 824 825</section><section id="follow_button_widget-8" class="widget widget_follow_button_widget footer-widget th-w-full th-px-sm"> 826 <a class="wordpress-follow-button" href="https://douglasernst.blog" data-blog="12031417" data-lang="en" >Follow Douglas Ernst Blog on WordPress.com</a> 827
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