Who drew a bigger crowd: the South or Jesus?
A social media analysis of the voting rights march vs. religious revival rally
There’s a difference between half-baked and half-assed.
I’ll give you a couple examples. In the early days of Who Broke It, as I struggled to figure out what this (gestures) even is, I served you all some pretty half-baked pieces. I’m woman enough to admit that. One thing I’d never do? Send you something half-assed. The same can’t be applied to these recent political events:
The DNC 2024, maneuvering between a late-July ticket switch-up and a late-August convention … barely baked at all, but definitely not half-assed.
FIFA’s Peace Prize Ceremony, definition of half-assed.
Elon Musk leading DOGE: baked like a cake (like, absolutely zooted), and somehow still half-assed.
Every social media video Zohran Mamdani has put out has been fully baked, voluptuously assed. You feel me?
Half-baked as a metric implies a solid foundation that just needed more time to firm up. Half-assed tells me you had the time and tools you needed, but not the effort to match. I need this distinction to be clear out the gate, because without it, we’re not adjusting our evaluation settings to account for a massive disparity between the two events I’ll be dissecting: lead time.
The “All Roads Lead to the South” march and rally came together as an immediate response to the SCOTUS ruling in Louisiana v. Callais and the subsequent rush to draw new congressional maps across the South. Compare that to the trail of breadcrumbs starting in July of 2025, leading to Trump’s concrete announcement of “Rededicate 250” at the National Prayer Breakfast on February 5. We’re looking at a week or so compared to anywhere between 3-10 months.
And yet, we saw almost two dozen Democratic lawmakers haul ass down to Alabama at the last minute, while six members of the Trump administration couldn’t be bothered to walk literally down the street to speak live at Prayerchella.
The whole 8+ hour D.C. prayer affair (yes, I watched all of it) really did feel like Coachella for people who yell “leave room for Jesus” at a school dance. In spite of that, it also felt less well-attended than my elementary school’s annual harvest festival. Even the name and branding — “Rededicate 250” — had a bottom-heavy clunkiness that kept it in conflict with the rapture-hopeful, ascendant-anxious crowd.
Their surroundings did them a favor, encased by the same historical set piece as MLK Jr., who speakers invoked over and over throughout the day — mostly in praise of his study of scripture, rather than his service, sacrifice, or struggle. This visual argument had a coincidental foil in Alabama. I love the way Jemar Tisby, PhD put it in his dispatch from down South:
“There — in front of the same building where Jefferson Davis was sworn in as president of the Confederacy, and on the same steps where George Wallace declared ‘segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever’ — we rallied for voting rights.”
Quite the asset swap. The activists and organizations who programmed the voting rights event made the location an essential part of the story-telling. Being in Selma and Montgomery dropped the familiarity and the closeness of our history right onto the screens of those scrolling at home. Speakers didn’t have to conjure MLK and the Civil Rights Movement from eons away when referenced on stage. The Foot Soldiers were already there.
For some reason, even with all the talk of providence and destiny and freedom and justice, both events struggled to break through on social media nationally. 40% of respondents to the poll I put out on The Recount’s IG story said they heard about neither event. Are we seeing the limits of circumstantially half-baked and deliberately half-assed strategy on display? Or is something else going on here…
What these competing visions nailed, who broke out of their insular bubble, and what each movement can learn from the other moving forward … all below!
BRANDING
Who named their event with infectious social spread in mind?
Rededicate 250: I told you I didn’t like this name. Let’s suppose for a moment that I’m a normal person with a normal brain uncorrupted by hours of political media everyday, and a post promoting this event comes across my feed. Rededicate … to what? 250 tells me it’s related to the birth of America, but Jesus Christ would not be my next guess.
⏱️ Type “rededicate 250” into the search bar of TikTok, the app assumes it’s a mistake and shows you results for “redecorate 250” instead.
⛔ They didn’t reserve the handle @rededicate250 on IG so a random user with 158 followers has the account rights.
🔍 I didn’t notice a push for their attendees or speakers to use the hashtag #rededicate250 that would’ve helped organize their content across platforms.
All Roads Lead to the South: Ok so. This branding lives on the website the organizers used to share information about the event. The slogan is featured on downloadable social media assets on the website also — always a sign of a ball-knower. We saw it on signs and paddles attendees waved and, yes, we saw it in almost every creator IG caption.
2️⃣ It wasn’t the only one: organizers and creators also featured the hashtag #FreedomSummer2026, leading to some content searches being split.
😎 I see the vision coining a _____ summer ahead of time, with the success of organic and coordinated social campaigns we’ve seen over the past few years (Brat Summer, Hot Girl/White Boy, etc).
🥴 Bit of a risk here that I don’t think matters to them — the “Freedom Summer” of recent memory (2020) brings up potent, bitter feelings in MAGA leaders and their base.
BREAKOUT
Who shared a message that broke containment?
R250: Eric Metaxas, author and radio host — I’m pretty confident that he didn’t mean to go viral. I imagine he would’ve worn a far less insane shirt-tie combination if he had. The first piece of content I saw from this event was a 0:15 clip from his speech that now has 1.6M views on X alone.
What he said: “It’s hard to believe that it would take two centuries for the Lord to raise up a great man to bring that ballroom, finally, to stand where it needs to stand.”
Who spread it: Posted by Aaron Rupar — shared by Aaron Parnas, JoJoFromJerz, David French, Brian Allen, MeidasTouch, Occupy Dems, etc.
How he took it: I’m livingggg for his multiple-post micro-crashout on Instagram. “All my friends are texting me ‘great line, hilarious line,’” surely. Then he is annoyed that the left “didn’t get the joke and are freaking out,” so he had to “do a social posting on this” to correct the record.
His IG bio says “sign up for my weekly newsletter or I will gnaw off my own arm” … stealing that.
FS26: AOC, I don’t have to tell you — Her five-minute speech during the rally definitely seemed to breakthrough more than any other speaker’s. My suspicion is this is because the audio was … rough.
What she said: “It is time for the North to pull up to the South and let them know exactly what they have uncorked with this injustice [...] They do not know the sleeping giant they just awakened.”
Who spread it: This is a great time to mention an ongoing situation I’m monitoring — AOC, herself, doesn’t post a ton of content. This speech was clipped and shared by her “Team AOC” account, which has fewer than 250k followers to her 10M+ crossplatform. Interesting. Findings to come at a later point.
Ascension indicator: Adrian Wojnarowski — inventor of the “Woj Bomb,” greatest NBA reporter of all time, current Bonnies GM, one-time “fuck you” slinger at GOP Sen. Josh Hawley — replied to the video:
Adrian Wojnarowski@wojespn@TeamAOC @AOC A leader for these times.4:20 AM · May 17, 2026 · 2.89M Views938 Replies · 711 Reposts · 18.9K Likes
DISSEMINATION
Who optimized their network better? This is exactly where each camp could stand to learn a thing or two from their foe.
FS26: Mobilizing creators is hard, but I’ve seen just how committed to it the left — from the establishment to the alternative — has been to the task, even on a small scale. Creators made their presence felt from start to finish, and it seemed like event organizers gave them the access and opportunity that isn’t always guaranteed.
🔦 Spotlight: The Root’s creator activation
High volume + personal perspective: The Black news and culture publication tapped 15 creators (by my count) to collaborate with that day, partner posting and sharing tons of video content throughout the day.
Zackory Kirk, Tevin Davis, Elizabeth Booker Houston, Isaiah Martin, Lynae Vanee, ADIV, Abiola Agoro, Keith Boykin, and more.
Want to, not have to: Ashley Allison, the publisher, said activations like this — “for Black people, by Black people, and about Black people” — are why she bought The Root.
🚩 Do better: Livestream presence
As creators on the left grow exponentially because of their commitment to livestreaming, their presence on the ground at full- and half-day events is gonna be key. Roland Martin had the only booth in Montgomery. The view counts and engagement rates are kinda brutal.
R250: For the time being, the right remains miles ahead in terms of the media infrastructure they spent a decade building out for this exact purpose. The audience for an event like this still has multiple ports of entry tailored to their tastes. This set up allows speakers to do pre- or post-game interviews, adding to their limited time on stage.
🔦 Spotlight: MAGA network presence
The bench of broadcasters: I’ll never forget the RNC 2024 when I saw MAGA’s media row for the first time. The depth of their alternative broadcast and radio roster is astonishing. And they always show up.
The lineup: Real America’s Voice, Right Side Broadcasting Network, Fox News (of course) all had mobile sets and anchors on the ground. Plus, a handful of popular religious networks (Christian Post, CBN) simulcasted, adding hundreds of thousands of views.
🚩 Do better: Christian creator activation
Accidentally de-influencing: The hordes of MAGA and Christian influencers that should have been roped into coverage were nowhere to be seen. Two years ago, a VIP seat or even speaking slot on stage would’ve been the hottest ticket in town.
A cold front: This does not bode well for the GOP. In eight hours, I only counted two callouts to young Christians, one being the VP. This administration is known for their manufactured outrage campaigns on X. I wonder if they’re struggling to get the same showing on other platforms.
THEN WHAT
This accidental, yet serendipitous, face-off reveals what both sides continue to struggle with when it comes to concurrent IRL and URL events. But the progress made — especially in the case of pressure testing the left’s reaction time for organizing — is really worthy of discussion. Obviously, that’s why I wrote 72,000 words on it just now.
What’s next? I’ll be keeping an eye on how these two groups keep their conversations going and growing.
LOOSE ENDS
📰 Something you should read today: Political Money Is Flowing to Influencers. But From Whom? — NY Times, Ken Bensinger (gift link!)
🥹 Something to make you smile today: What had me smiling at 12:30am hiding my phone under the covers like a kid sneaking late-night reading? Victor Wembanyama and his San Antonio Spurs holding the line against OKC’s absolutely fascist basketball vibes. If you have even a fledgling curiosity about basketball, go watch the two overtime quarters last night (10 mins of play). Your life will be changed. I swear.
The Democratic Party establishment and its political leaders are not interested in Justice. They are interested in the judicial system agreeing with them, no matter what.
https://torrancestephensphd.substack.com/p/fighting-and-dying-for-segregation