anyone with an internet connection can claim the role of cultural theorist. The modern digital oracle doesn’t analyze culture—they manufacture their own relevance, treating critique as branding rather than inquiry.

Cultural criticism has become a performative identity. Once the domain of academia and journalism, it’s now a currency for digital clout. The question isn’t just why critique thrives online—it’s why it’s been reduced to soundbites, stripped of depth, and optimized for engagement over insight.

The print era tied authority to expertise and institutional backing. Television shifted credibility toward charisma and visual presentation. Social media has rewritten the rules again: trust is no longer about expertise, but about performance. This environment fosters the rise of the TikTok Oracle, where complex cultural critiques are distilled... See more