Anne Applebaum

This scandal may be different

By Charlie Sykes

We’ve been through this so often that I really hesitate to write: This time could be different. I know that nothing matters and that our alternative reality silos can bend any reality beyond recognition. But this is a story with legs — and the lies, excuses, word games, and whataboutism of the wretched hive are making a bad thing even worse.

“For the first time arguably since the election,” reports Axios, “Trump’s allies have lost control of the public narrative — including on X, the platform owned by the president’s billionaire adviser Elon Musk.”

And there’s some evidence that the scandal is breaking through: Top Trump officials’ Signal blunder becomes top news story of 2025.

Rarely do U.S. national security stories gain this much traction so quickly around the world.

#SignalGate is more than just a revelatory report, it’s a viral sensation that’s driving meme mania online.

 

Source: Applebaum: Signalgate and the Authoritarian Playbook