Doppelganger – A Trip into the Mirror World – by Naomi Klein
Naomi Klein is a respected investigative journalist, writer, media personality, and progressive voice.
Naomi Wolff was at one time a well-known feminist and media personality.
Then, the miasma of conspiracy theories and misinformation that blossomed under Covid turned Naomi Wolff into a conspiracy theorist, purveyor of hysterical anti-vaccination rumors, and eventually a full-scale acolyte of Steve Bannon and a right-wing extremist internet personality.
In an even stranger twist of fate, in the crazy mirror world of the Covid internet, Naomi Klein then found herself confused and conflated with Naomi Wolff, to the point where their identities became intertwined, and her public persona became interchangeable with “the other Naomi” as she came to call her. At first, as any normal person would, she decided to pay no attention and wait for the whole thing to blow over. In the end, it didn’t, and, recognizing the necessity of reclaiming her identity, she resolved to go on the journey to find out how it started and determine what, if anything, she could do about it.
This book is the story of that journey, as she trails “the other Naomi” through the dark world of conspiracists, right wing extremists, anti-vaccination hysterics, “medical” snake-oil salesman, and every other kind of crackpot and lunatic in the insane world that is the internet today.
It turns out to be a fascinating journey, because Naomi Klein, our Naomi, is a brilliant writer, a brilliant mind, a master of investigative technique and research, and the universe of subjects that she covers in this book and the mind-blowing array of facts and obscure information she delivers, from the evolution and present state of our capitalist economy to the reality of parenting a neurodivergent child is just plain fascinating.
And here’s a bonus: if you want to know what intellectual, sophisticated, left-wing progressive thought looks like, read this book. I can’t wait to read more of her work, if I can just figure out which of her books to read next.
