Human Trafficking w/ Eliza Bleu
One of the characteristics of the post-pandemic / Post-Trump right is the vast monetisation of this 'newly-awakened', politically interested gen X / Boomer audience. The "Groomer" narrative has been a perfect vehicle for influencers to monetise conservative angst with the assertion that sexual exploitation is endemic to Neoliberal society and that by raising awareness of the issues, a select number of social media influencers will bring about an end to genuinely horrific abuses.
Enter Eliza Bleu, a self-identified survivor of "human trafficking" and advocate for abuse victims. I needed to put "human trafficking" in quotation marks as Bleu chooses her own esoteric definition of human trafficking, which does not match everyday use. In a podcast with Michael Malice, Bleu describes human trafficking as the monetisation of unwilling (sexual) labour - which appears to be a sound and succinct definition. However, Bleu suggests that her own case of Human Trafficking was because social media platforms (somehow) profited from someone making imposter accounts using her images.
Bleu's status as a human trafficking victim has been called into doubt based upon her own testimony of how she considers herself to have been trafficked - with many on the right claiming that, indeed, her identity was stolen (or otherwise falsified), but this does not constitute human trafficking. Overall, this would not have been notable, except that Bleu appears to have become Elon Musk's sexual exploitation guru on Twitter - and appears to be using this newfound prominence for personal gain.
in a recent appearance on Hotep Jesus's live stream, Bleu appears to pressure the host on air into agreeing that 50% of the super chat revenue should go to her (or her organisation, it is unclear) to support victims of human trafficking. This has amplified assertions from right-wing commentators that Bleu is a grifter who is profiting from the goodwill of audiences who naively believe that she is helping victims.
Back in c.2014, at the height of the Men's Rights Movement, there was momentum in creating content which amplified the perceived systemic victimization of men by a gynocentric (women-oriented) society. Some Men's Rights Advocates (and MGTOW) personalities began making enough money to make content creation a full-time job. One of the most direct and impactful criticisms from feminists was simply to ask, "but what are you actually doing to support these victimized and abused men?". There was no satisfactory response, other than "we are raising awareness", - revealing to the nascent alt-light that the line between political advocate and content creator is blurry and often quite murky.
In recent years, the line between political advocates and content creators has been better demarcated as a space for grifters to leverage public outrage on a particular issue underpinned by the implicit promise that their work has a policy impact. For Eliza Bleu, her behaviour and abstract self-identity have done little to legitimise her as anything other than a grifter. Indeed, it has not helped that notable right-wing personalities critical of Eliza Bleu appear to have encountered Twitter bans and content strikes on YouTube. This includes Yellow Flash - a friend of Lawtuber Nick Rekeita, Brittney Venti and 'Meme War Veteran' Jeremy Hamley (the Quartering). These are not insignificant names in the YouTube / Rumble right-wing commentariat, amplifying social proof that Bleu is abusing whatever power she has amassed in her association with Elon Musk to silence critics. Something similar helped the launch of Gamergate back in 2014.
Indeed, over the next week, there will be much "tea spilt" and "receipts shown" as the right-wing commentariat set out to dismantle a perceived grifter seemingly grifting a dumb 'boomer' audience. The intergenerational conflict angle can not be overlooked, as younger internet users typically see older Gen Xers/ Boomer conservatives as incredibly naive to online scams - and are ruining social internet ecosystems through their misdirected application of capital. For the most part, tangential criticisms of Bleu draw upon her decades-long media profile to claim that she has always been seeking fame - and is now using the issue of human trafficking to achieve this.