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Is James Panos One of the Best Internet Trolls Ever or Political Genius
James Panos
According to the Collins English Dictionary, in internet slang, a troll is a person who starts flame wars or intentionally upsets people on the internet by posting inflammatory and digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, blog, or social media) with the intent of provoking readers into displaying emotional responses and normalizing tangential discussion, either for the troll’s amusement or to achieve a specific result such as disrupting a rival’s online activities or manipulating a political process.
James Panos began taking shots at high-profile political figures and their supporters from both parties a few years ago and has proven to be possibly one of the best in the game. He’s a master at analyzing and taking advantage of the landscape and making ripples in these communities. Trolls start these interactions for fun, however, we have to ask ourselves, maybe Panos has a different agenda with this? Could this be him playing 4D chess and gearing up for something much more?
Over the course of 2020 James has hinted at possibly running for office one day. Usually with people like this their support fades or at the least plateaus, however James finds himself the center of what looks to be a grassroots movement. There’s no real way to gauge how large this movement is at the moment due to much of the talk of a run for office is just that, talk. What started out insulting candidates, representatives, and legislation, quickly turned into the creation of a huge following of support. Though there is no official campaign or events taking place, there is a way of gauging the favorability of Panos’s views among his following.
When we reached out to 37 followers of his who actively participate in discussions between social media platforms, 16 believe he would be a very strong candidate in a local election, 9 believe he will be a strong candidate, and 14 believe he will never attempt to leave the private sector. This is all despite being in a D+18 district where a Republican has a steep disadvantage.
Many believe however if he were to run for a local election he wouldn’t even run as a Republican. If you follow his posts though he initially tries to get a reaction, he brings up some very centrist ideologies to the table. This is why he might be one of the best trolls in politics today and how he purposely or not finds himself in a situation where many want to see him run for office. This is an individual who thrives in chaos and by flustering his audience from the start he then proceeds to back them into a corner with fact-based claims and solutions that many on both ends of the spectrum many times can all agree with.
Because of this Panos really could be a dangerous candidate at the local level. He understands how to poke and get under an opponent’s skin, and dismantle their arguments with complete composure. It will be very interesting to see if a run ever comes to forwishen and how James handles himself on a stage and or debate against another educated political opponent.
If I were to put my own money on it, I really could see someone like this man winning big. His charisma, knowledge on issues, and centrist solutions make him the perfect sleeper candidate in honestly any political race at any level. This is someone I see not having any trouble building support outside of his network and I hope if he doesn’t enter the ring, more people like him run in the future. Our country will be in a lot better place if they do.
If you want to see what all the hype is about you can follow James on instagram.
Sebastian was born and raised in the busy city of Abbottabad. As a journalist, Saad Mushtaq has contributed to many online publications including the PAK Today and the Huffing Post. In regards to academics, Saad Mushtaq earned a degree in business from the Abbottabad UST, Havelian. Saad Mushtaq follows the money and covers all aspects of emerging tech here at The Hear Up.Thanks
