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Lina Tsapova

Since when has my TikTok turned into political debates, war discussions, and space-science news?

I have no idea how it manages to eavesdrop on me in real life so that instead of “how to level up a druid in Diablo 4” or “what to make for breakfast,” the algorithm feeds me these huge, global, serious topics.

Don’t get me wrong — it’s not that I’m not interested in what’s happening in the world. It’s more that, right now, I’m consciously avoiding those intense emotions. It’s hard for me to watch people fiercely trying to prove their point of view or the righteousness of their own or others’ actions.

And you know, this time TikTok gave me new thoughts while also stirring up old fears.

Have you ever read Umberto Eco’s Inventing the Enemy?

It’s a mix of reflection, philosophy, and historical research on how to govern masses — basically, how to divide and rule.

How do you unite people of completely different ages, statuses, wealth, genders, and beliefs? How do you bring together an 18-year-old rocker teenager, a 60-year-old widowed housewife with extra weight, a 38-year-old married millionaire, and Uncle Vasya, the mechanic who’s worked at the same factory his whole life?

You give them a common “enemy.” Something to hate, despise, and feel disgust toward — something “other” than themselves.

Once it was the Jews. Once it was Black people. Once it was beautiful women (burned at the stake as witches). Gays. Muslims. Pagans. Christians. And let’s be honest — not “once,” but always. Eco even includes historical excerpts showing just how easy it was to demonize a group — comparing a Jewish nose to a devil’s, or claiming they ate children during certain holidays.

When I first read it, I remember laughing at how absurd it sounded. I couldn’t believe people ever believed this — even back then. You’d think common sense would stop it. But that was before the war. Now, when I think of that book, I just feel sad. Because in Russia, long before the full-scale invasion, TV was already telling stories that somewhere in Donetsk or Lviv, Ukrainian nationalists had crucified a little boy. Absurd, right? Hilarious, even — if it weren’t used as a “fact” to justify violence. And it’s not just Russia — this exists everywhere, in one form or another.

Ideas can be planted in people’s minds even if they’ve never considered them before. Repeat a narrative enough times, and it becomes “truth.”

You can convince people that women are unhappy because they don’t have children.

You can call abortion “evil.”

You can stir up hatred toward Mexicans or Indians simply by twisting facts.

And maybe I wouldn’t care as much if I didn’t see people with no real connection to the topic fighting the loudest for it...

Men who campaign to ban abortions despite never having lived in a woman’s body, never knowing what pregnancy or childbirth feels like......People who swear Ukrainian land is Russian and that we’re “brothers and sisters,” even though they’ve never been to Ukraine — and, honestly, have barely ventured beyond their own village....People who rage against Islam without knowing its laws or ever reading the Qur’an.

It’s terrifying and sad to live in a world where masses are so easily manipulated from above — and where people will go to the ends of the earth for ideas that were never theirs to begin with.

Once, my feed was just cats, dogs, stand-up clips, and dancing teenagers — something light before bed. Now it’s heavy thoughts about the reality we live in.

So tell me — what does your TikTok feed look like before you fall asleep? Is it still full of cats and silly dances… or has it gone dark too?

P.S. These photos are from late May/early June — about two months ago. And yes… you can already tell I’m not as skinny as I used to be. See? I wasn’t lying when I said I’ve put on some weight.