Adrian Chiles (Opinion, 4 June) has actually simply uncovered words edgelord– a term that was brand-new to me as well– and currently he sees it anywhere. He’s not incorrect: it’s swarming on social networks, in podcasts and in YouTube remarks. Yet just how did he ignore the edgelord-in-chief himself?
Donald Trump is the stereotypical edgelord: constantly intriguing, constantly on-line, adverse reality and addicted to the focus his outrage produces. He really did not simply meddle edgelordery for clicks– he constructed his very own social networks loudspeaker to transmit it. It’s as if Reality Social had actually been handed the nuclear codes.
Chiles blogs about edgelords with bemused detachment. Yet Trump reveals what occurs when trolling ends up being statecraft, and ethical vacuity poses as “informing it like it is”. This isn’t simply an on the internet character– it’s a regulating design with international repercussions.
Following time Adrian areas an edgelord, he may glimpse throughout the Atlantic and know that we’re all still dealing with the outcomes.
Anthony Lawton
Church Langton, Leicestershire
