Why we do it:

There is a widespread idea that Americans aren’t doing anything, but in fact we’re everywhere, every day, creatively resisting. It’s up to us to get the word out.

Ridicule and contempt take the wind out of authoritarian sails, and creative spectacle can go viral with a bit of a boost. There are hundreds of creative protests happening, but Portland is taking its unofficial motto “Keep Portland Weird” seriously. If you need a starting point, it’s there.

Find creative spectacle and share it. If you’ve heard of a local effort, get the word out. If there’s someone dressed as baby Trump outside your courthouse, go take a picture and post it. When you see stories online verify them and then share them.

A word on reality:

AI slop is taking over, and it does real harm. Among other things, it often features unrealistic actions by the hero: a professional who does so much charity work the “math doesn’t math” or an old person who feeds the neighborhood for years on her own meager income, thriving on the love. Human bodies need real care, and under capitalism that means money. When we raise up stories that aren’t real, we leave all the people struggling to do good feeling inadequate. It’s no different from airbrushed models: real bodies can’t look like that all the time.

• look for news verification. If all links lead back to social media, it may be fake.
• Look for different angles on an image or multiple (different) reports of the story.
• Look for AI : images have uncanny errors, or stories confuse “unimportant” facts (e.g. someone is a wife, then a fiance.)
• If something is going viral, check snopes, etc.