The “Intellectual Dark Web” is a Billionaire-Funded Echo Chamber
On May 8th of 2018, the New York Times published an opinion from the editor by Bari Weiss, titled “Meet the Renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web.” While the piece was the subject of much derision at the time of publication, the titular phrase has gained traction both ironic and sincere. The opening paragraph of the piece states: “Here are some things that you will hear when you sit down to dinner with the vanguard of the Intellectual Dark Web: There are fundamental biological differences between men and women. Free speech is under siege. Identity politics is a toxic ideology that is tearing American society apart. And we’re in a dangerous place if these ideas are considered ‘dark.’” This is a statement of the values of the editor, Weiss’ political stances.
Weiss initially distinguished herself among right-wingers with her involvement in countering campus backlash towards Israeli war crimes. The National Review recently published a masturbatory writer’s retelling of Weiss’ rise, “The Sliming of Bari Weiss,” which included the phrase “In short, criticism isn’t censorship.” Of course, the irony of a turn of phrase such as this being used to defend someone who feels “free speech is under siege” is lost on an outlet founded by William F. Buckley Jr. and edited by Ralph de Toledano, both known for codifying the rhetoric of the Southern…
