A few hours ago, this popped up on Twitter. The video, which features the third different message - from what sounds like a third different voice, might be the least interesting part about it, too.
꓅̵̦̺̼̐̀ꑛ̴̖̟̖̰́̆̍͆ꍟ̷̹̔ ̵͖̺̳̻́͆͛̔꓅̵̡̣̆̀꒓̸͕̥̋̚͠ͅꐇ̴͔̤̅͊̚͘꓅̶͎̍͆ꑛ̵͓̊̿̌ ̴̼̮͍̻̊̏͒̀ꅐ̶͇̂̚ꂑ̴̧͖͊̈꒒̶̧͇͚̃̀̆꒒̷̟͂̀̑͘ ̶̝̻͠ꃃ̵̱̦̩͇̈̏ꍟ̸̬̜́̋͜ ̸̤̞̠̿̕ꑛ̶͔̪̟͙̒̒̃̇ꍟ̷̥͉͆ꋫ̶̢̱̀꒓̷̮̔̽̒̄ꁕ̴̛͚͇̈̓.̵̨̡͉̥̈́̊͑͝ pic.twitter.com/j4ynaoyj1X
— The Message (@TheMessageWWE) April 21, 2020
“There are those who don’t want us to speak. They don’t want us to see. Through force and fear they’re risen to power. But the people should not fear those in power. No, those in power should fear the people. For the people are many. The people are ready. And we will speak, we will see, and the evil done in the dark will be exposed - in the light.
The message will be delivered. And the truth will be heard.”
The message accompanying the tweet itself seems to be a random text effect, but there’s information to be gleaned from the the Twitter account itself.
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The coordinates point us to Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico, which is probably just a play on the hacker or hackers’ repeated themes and not a sign Cactus Jack is involved.
More interesting is the tweet total and the “joined” date. This is the only tweet in the account’s timeline now, so the other five have been wiped. And fans who are better internet detectives than I have unearthed the fact The Message used to be used by WWE’s old “Stand Up for WWE” campaign - which, if intentional, is a smart piece of business.
“Stand Up for WWE” encouraged fans to be advocates for the company, both by promoting their love of WWE and by responding to anyone who insulted or belittled it. This was during Linda McMahon’s two failed runs for one of Connecticut’s Senate seats, and local coverage of her ties to the company and the wrestling business was overwhelmingly negative.
It seemed bizarre at the time (circa 2010 - 2012), but in a lot of ways foresaw internet stan culture and the way brands can weaponize fans. But I digress...
The idea the hacker(s) repurposed one of WWE’s most infamous propaganda campaigns is low-key brilliant.
What’s next for this storyline? I for one can’t wait to find out*!
* Even if my decades of watching WWE tell me I’ll probably end up disappointed before all is said and done. But I wouldn’t still be here if I didn’t enjoy the ride to let-down town.