If you’ve been an avid social media user, especially since Donald Trump ascended to the presidency in 2017, then you’ve probably seen hashtags like #TheResistance and #Resist floating around. Something becomes clear by following this group of mixed fictional character avatars and online activists.

They aren’t really relevant anymore. 

It’s not as if all of them collectively decided to delete their social media accounts. However, they have almost faded into obscurity, especially since the mid-term election. What caused a mammoth hashtag to decline to the point where it only pulls 250 tweets an hour?

#TheResistance only needs to look at itself.

The history of #TheResistance is full of all sorts of shenanigans. It’s an online trend is full of bots, shady influencers, and bloggers hocking snake oil. All the while, the average user elevates these messages to the masses. These influencer accounts would often sell false hope in the form that could rival even those on the right who fawn over the next QAnon post.

Krassenstein Brothers

While there are so many instances of #Resist social media to pull from, the best example is the infamous Krassenstein Brothers. These are the brothers you would often see responding to Donald Trump’s tweets and posting redundant liberal cheerleading sentiments as they massed a huge following on Twitter. The two brothers used the rocket of #TheResistance to propel themselves into Twitter stardom, with fans often idolizing them. 

The two Krassensteins weren’t worthy of this praise, though. 

They were investigated for running financial scams, which leaves one to chuckle considering how often they spoke of Trump being crooked. The Krassenstein accounts would be later suspended for using bots and buying interactions to boost their posts. The suspension left them to meander on Facebook with but a fraction of the following. 

Patribotics

The #Resist movement was also full of entities waiting to profit from selling false hope by promising the current administration would crash into flames with Donald Trump eventually being held accountable and thrown into jail. 

One of the most famous instances of this was Patribotics. 

Patribotics was founded by Louise Mensch, a former conservative member of the UK Parliament, who started the blog in January 2017. Mensch was often invited to various political shows, such as Real Time with Bill Maher. This enabled her platforms to spread unsustainable claims that she had gathered from unnamed sources in the intelligence community. 

These breaking stories often fell flat and, eventually, people grew tired of Mensch’s conspiracies. But, for a bit, she was a darling for #TheResistance. 

Now you can just watch her spread insane conspiracies like this gem.

After this tweet, @US_Stratcom blocked my account. Chuck Johnson, RIS Breitbart trolls control a US military twitter/s @TheJusticeDept https://t.co/vCMH6QVeUu

— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) April 6, 2017

These are just two prime examples examples of the many that took advantage of #TheResistance for their selfish gains, including the promotion of their music careers, blogs, and YouTube channels, only to leave it later when they amassed enough followers. They cared more about self-promotion and a quick buck than they did about any movement or principle.

A Lack Of Solidarity

The group also has another problem. They are openly hostile to the far left of the Democrat Party, especially towards Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). It’s common to see #Resist members spreading anti-Sanders memes, questioning his record, and using the same type of smear tactics that one would expect from the right. It often leaves you to wonder if it really was some movement of resistance instead of just another form of Hillary Clinton’s #ImWithHer.

While there are still plenty of people tweeting #Resist, it has become less frequent and will never reach the numbers the movement did in 2017-2018. Currently, it seems to be the same accounts retweeting each other and supporting establishment candidates, though in lesser numbers. They only seem to stick with the same old party, while many are moving on to become far more progressive.

That could be the reason why the resistance has become futile.