Gisbert, from YouTube to TV: the price of media exposure
Gisbert has jumped from YouTube to television: co-optation of the system, the controversy business, or an inconvenient voice? Here's how it's explained.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Gisbert: why the media establishment has peine the door for him
What does Gisbert have that makes television make room for him? The latest exchange of accusations around his figure points to an uncomfortable answer: the algorithm doesn't promote just anyone, but rather those who fit the dominant narrative. It doesn't matter whether they come from YouTube, geopolitics or economic analysis: if they appear on mainstream media, it's because they've said something useful for the system.
Some put it bluntly: every YouTuber who receives media exposure or algorithmic promotion is, by definition, someone useful for propping up the underlying discourse. That list includes Roma Gallardo, Coronel Latin, Desokupa or Friker. The co-optation theory, in short: the system doesn't put you on air out of charity, it puts you on air because you serve it.
Controversy that sells, or an inconvenient voice?
Another reading points to pure business: controversy, insults and hoaxes sell. And the networks have always known it. On the opposite side, a minority argues that Gisbert says coherent things and attacks Spain's real enemies, and that precisely for that reason he hasn't quite taken off on mainstream channels: his real reach would be smaller than that of the big YouTubers.
The detail that tangles up the conversation is the Iker Jiménez episode. Those who remember it describe it as a moment of eating humble pie, but it undoubtedly served to make Gisbert's name heard more than in his entire previous career. Coincidence or not, the effect was the same.
Meanwhile, cruder accusations appear: that he would be on the payroll of intelligence services, that he would be a pro-Russian propagandist, that he questions the EU as a new Reich. Each of those labels places him in a specific audience niche. And in the attention economy, that is also a value.
The conclusion isn't elegant: having appeared on television doesn't prove you're an agent of the system, but it doesn't rule it out either. And if the algorithm pushes you, it's worth asking why, even if nobody has an answer.
What does Gisbert have that makes television make room for him? The latest exchange of accusations around his figure points to an uncomfortable answer: the algorithm doesn't promote just anyone, but rather those who fit the dominant narrative. It doesn't matter whether they come from YouTube, geopolitics or economic analysis: if they appear on mainstream media, it's because they've said something useful for the system.
Some put it bluntly: every YouTuber who receives media exposure or algorithmic promotion is, by definition, someone useful for propping up the underlying discourse. That list includes Roma Gallardo, Coronel Latin, Desokupa or Friker. The co-optation theory, in short: the system doesn't put you on air out of charity, it puts you on air because you serve it.
Controversy that sells, or an inconvenient voice?
Another reading points to pure business: controversy, insults and hoaxes sell. And the networks have always known it. On the opposite side, a minority argues that Gisbert says coherent things and attacks Spain's real enemies, and that precisely for that reason he hasn't quite taken off on mainstream channels: his real reach would be smaller than that of the big YouTubers.
The detail that tangles up the conversation is the Iker Jiménez episode. Those who remember it describe it as a moment of eating humble pie, but it undoubtedly served to make Gisbert's name heard more than in his entire previous career. Coincidence or not, the effect was the same.
Meanwhile, cruder accusations appear: that he would be on the payroll of intelligence services, that he would be a pro-Russian propagandist, that he questions the EU as a new Reich. Each of those labels places him in a specific audience niche. And in the attention economy, that is also a value.
The conclusion isn't elegant: having appeared on television doesn't prove you're an agent of the system, but it doesn't rule it out either. And if the algorithm pushes you, it's worth asking why, even if nobody has an answer.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (18 replies).
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