BOSEMAN, Mont. — Online activist Clark Dawson advanced the slow march to world peace and unity by commenting “do better” on a sponsored Instagram post for a new line of Baked Lays, confirmed multiple sources.
“I’m just not one of those people who can sit around and stay silent. I saw the ad and it had a few racially ambiguous people eating chips in preparation for ‘The Big Game,’ but not once did anyone turn to camera and mention how a radical Supreme Court stripped away women’s reproductive rights. As a feminist I was outraged,” said Clark after posting multiple screenshots of his comment. “I just saw all these other people responding to the ad saying things like ‘My favorite,’ ‘I eat two bags a day,’ or ‘Where can I get a refund on an expired bag?’ and it made me wonder why I even try. Multiple genocides are happening around the world and Frito-Lay refuses to mention them in any of their ads.”
Roommate Alexi Whinfield says he is disappointed with Dawson’s so-called activism.
“Last week I organized a rally downtown to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and over 2,000 people, including the mayor, showed up to support it. When I asked Clark why he didn’t come he said ‘That shit doesn’t make a difference’ while he spent the night harassing people who post funny dog compilations on Tiktok for being ‘complicit,’” said Whinfield. “I asked him if he could at least donate money to provide aid for Palestinian relief efforts and he told me he was saving his money for boycotts. I really don’t understand what that means, but he seemed super proud of himself.”
Experts who study internet culture believe shallow online activism is only going to continue to grow as the world descends further into chaos.
“There are a lot of things that are out of our control, so screaming ‘You aren’t doing enough’ at a stranger online provides comfort to those who also aren’t doing enough. The people who are actually putting in the work to make change are typically too busy getting things done to find the time to shame anyone else. It’s a strange paradox,” said sociologist Drew Briski. “Unfortunately if you confront someone online about their lazy activism they just make more noise and everything devolves even further. It’s best to ignore them entirely.”
At press time, Dawson was overheard using multiple homophobic slurs while playing “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III” online with his old friends from high school.