System Update with Glenn Greenwald The Right Wages Its Own Cancel Culture War: Lee Fang, Thomas Chatterton Williams, and Leighton Woodhouse on the State of Civil Discourse and More
Sep 18, 2025
Leighton Woodhouse, a journalist and former union organizer, joins writer Thomas Chatterton Williams in a thought-provoking discussion. They delve into the right's rise in cancel culture amidst civil discord and the implications for free speech. Leighton reveals the risks of monitoring private online spaces, while Thomas reflects on the cultural upheavals that simplified complex social issues into binaries. Together, they explore the impact of online toxicity on political dynamics and identity politics, highlighting the necessity for more nuanced discourse.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Assassination As Pretext For State Crackdown
- Lee Fang argues the Kirk assassination triggered right-wing calls to weaponize state power against political opponents.
- He warns this mirrors past left-wing pushes to pressure platforms and threatens civil liberties and surveillance expansion.
Avoid Forcing A Political Narrative
- Leighton Woodhouse notes investigators and media rushed to fit the suspect into existing political narratives without solid evidence.
- He finds the suspect appears more like an online "normie" steeped in meme culture than a coherent ideological extremist.
Hypocrisy In Weaponizing Cancel Culture
- Fang highlights the hypocrisy of conservatives who once opposed cancel culture now calling for mass firings and a database of offenders.
- He says many targeted posts merely expressed disagreement or poor taste, not celebration of violence.
