There’s no doubt a key driver behind opposition to the Gaza massacre, especially among normie types, has been the footage from smartphones showing the mass destruction and casualties.

Hypothetically, if the War in Iraq occurred with 2023 smartphone technology, how would this have impacted public opinion?

Would Bush have been re-elected in 2004?

Also, for historians of the war, is there a particular atrocity during the war that has been documented by activists or watchdogs but has limited photographic evidence, that had it been recorded by smartphone, could have single-handedly turned the tide of public opinion?

For instance, I have an aunt who is definitely MAGA, and is flirting with Q-Anon ideas. However, she has pretty good views on the environment and animal rights. For instance, after travelling to Ecuador, she donates to some Ecuadorian land trust run by locals. However, if you start talking to her about the border or gender, she goes full Orbán.

For the record, I love my bike and don't own a car. However, the local cycling "activists" in my community are from the same mold as the YIMBY, neoliberal urbanist types. Overwhelmingly white, PMC and childless, who view bicycling and bike infrastructures as the harbinger for livable cites.

When you're a coder or social media marketing douche sitting on an ergonomic chair for 8 hours, cycling for five minutes to and from your loft is an ideal arrangement. However, cycling is a lot less attractive to a blue collar worker who has to travel to a exurb for their grueling 9 hour retail or Amazon warehouse shift standing on their feet. They would much rather nap on the bus after a shift than push pedals for 5 miles.

There is significant research that bike lanes are a trojan horse for gentrification and neoliberal housing development.

In my mid-size city, the twittersphere about local city politics is disproportionately geared towards cycling. It's become a cool kids club for PMCs to get involved in municipal politics, while ignoring much more desperate issues like homelessness and police brutality.