紐時賞析／柯克遇刺 美政治網紅不分左右人人自危

美國保守派活動家柯克遇刺後，哀悼者在臨時場所獻花擺放國旗致意。紐約時報

Influencers on Right and Left Dealing With Doubts and Fears

柯克遇刺 美政治網紅不分左右人人自危

Two decades ago, the job title “content creator” didn’t exist. Today, a thriving economy fortifies these social media personalities as they anchor YouTube shows and post to legions of fans on Instagram or X.

20年前，「內容創作者」這個職稱還不存在。如今，蓬勃的經濟支持着這些社羣媒體名人，他們主持YouTube節目，並在 Instagram或X上向大量粉絲髮布內容。

Charlie Kirk was one of them — a conservative activist and Trump adviser who, after seven years of running a nonprofit, began playing in the same podcasting sandbox as people like Ben Shapiro on the right and the Meiselas brothers on the left.

查理．柯克就是其中一位：保守派活動家及川普顧問，在經營非營利組織七年之後，他開始與右派的夏皮洛以及左派的梅瑟拉斯兄弟等人，在同個播客領域活動。

Kirk’s assassination Wednesday has left that high-drama ecosystem reeling.

週三，柯克遭暗殺，原本就很有戲的這個生態圈陷入震盪。

Over the past week, prominent creators on both sides of the political spectrum say they have been reckoning with a new level of fear. Many are considering ratcheting up their security, if they haven’t already. Others are recalibrating how to safely interact with audiences in person — or whether to keep making content in public at all.

過去一週，政治光譜兩端的知名創作者表示，他們正面臨前所未有的恐懼。還沒有注意到自身安全的許多人考慮加強自身的安全措施。其他人則在重新評估，如何安全地與觀衆面對面互動，或者是否還要在公開場合創作內容。

“My security chief called me when this happened,” Glenn Beck of The Blaze told Megyn Kelly on her YouTube broadcast on Wednesday, adding that he had previously pressed Kirk on his level of protection. “Too many people in our position do not take security seriously.”

「這件事發生時，我的安全主管打給我。」保守派的火焰媒體創辦人兼主持人格林．貝克週三在梅根．凱莉的YouTube節目中表示，他補充說，之前他曾向柯克強調過安全防護的重要性。「像我們這種身分的人，太多人沒有把安全當回事。」

Social media during the Trump era has been defined by roiling debate between these digital celebrities, their fans and their detractors. Although many online personalities have received threats of violence, and have chosen largely to brush them off, that no longer seems like an option.

川普時代的社羣媒體，以這些數位名人、其粉絲與批評者之間的激烈辯論爲特色。雖然許多線上名人曾收到過暴力威脅，但大多選擇置之不理，如今這套模式似乎再也行不通。

“Charlie got threats all the time,” Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist and host of the daily video podcast “WarRoom,” said in an interview with The New York Times.

白宮前策略長、每日上架的播客「戰情室」主持人巴農接受紐約時報採訪時說：「查理經常收到威脅」。

And yet Kirk was committed to the on-the-ground “populist thing” that people now expect of political heroes, Bannon said.

巴農表示，柯克卻一直致力於親自參與民粹主義活動，這也是人們如今對政治英雄的期待。

Events have become a pillar of new media stardom, and anxiety following Kirk’s assassination could have a tangible impact on creators’ livelihoods. For top podcasters, tours are booming, opening up new revenue streams and reinforcing their uniquely casual and direct relationship with fans.

各種活動已成爲新媒體名人地位的重要支柱，而柯克遭暗殺後的焦慮可能會對創作者的生計造成實質影響。對於頂尖播客來說，巡迴活動正蓬勃發展，開啓新的收入來源，並強化他們與粉絲之間獨特的隨性而直接的互動關係。

Yet in this new world, creators may rethink making themselves so accessible.

然而在這個新世界中，創作者可能會重新考慮自己是否應該如此平易近人。

Going forward, experts anticipate that venues and their insurers will be more restrictive with political speakers, or reluctant to host them at all. On Thursday, Glen Kucera, who runs enhanced protection services for the security firm Allied Universal, said that more than 30 universities had reached out to discuss campus safety in the wake of Kirk’s shooting.

展望未來，專家預期，場地經營者及保險公司將對政治講者更爲嚴格，甚至可能不願出借場地。週四，負責安保公司Allied Universal 加強防護服務的格林．庫塞拉表示，超過30所大學主動聯繫，討論柯克遭槍擊事件後的校園安全問題。

文／Jessica Testa, Joseph Bernstein and Callie Holtermann，譯／國際中心

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