There is a well-known “horseshoe” theory of political sentiment, which suggests that as ideologies become more polarised along a left-right axis, so they become more alike on a liberal-authoritarian one. This was a useful prop for centrists of the mid-20th century, who sought to portray themselves as the first line of defence against the gulag.Today, things are far more complicated than these simple axes of left-right and liberal-authoritarian imply. The problem in the age of big tech, the climate crisis, Covid lockdowns, online influencers and collapsed trust in “mainstream” politics and media is that everybody has their suspicions that they are being lied to and manipulated – and they’re right. Where they disagree is on the identity of the liars and the purpose of the manipulation.