RIGHT PERSONA

Construct an instagram persona with oppositional views from my own – follow right wing groups, figures and like, comment on material while posting similar stuff – How far do I want to go catfishing? – Could direct message – Aim isn’t to make fun or create conflict

A few aims:

Investigate what it’s like to appear to agree with/believe in something while knowing you don’t (idea of Ketman in Czeslaw Milosz, ‘The Captive Mind’ – the creation of a public persona that conforms to ideologies of a totalitarian state) – I don’t like lying and never been good at acting face to face, but it’s easier via internet and social media. In a sense this will be an exploration of empathy – trying to understand a perspective in opposition to my own.

Exploring ways to subvert personal data analysis – if I pretend to be someone else will I start getting different ads? Will companies see me as someone else if I start posting, following, liking certain things. “You think you know me” – I don’t want to be manipulated by these analytics groups

Starting points:

I should make a fictional real-life persona and post as if I were them – but I’ll need to consider boundaries I won’t cross (nothing abusive, no racist language)

Compile a list of hashtags I could use e.g. tommyrobinson in order to gain followers of

INFORMATION WARFARE

SCATTERING WILDFLOWERS

SEND LETTERS TO MSP’S

CLAPPING (IN THE STREET) AT 8, HOWLING (DOWN THE PHONE) AT 10 – Difference in experience of the lockdown

BOOK OF TRUTH – continuous list of lies/non-truths/fiction present as fact (need to consider whether I’m happy with people believing the lies) – History comes from the Greek for inquiry