It happened so casually.

I was eating an unholy burger built with two quite dissimilar patties — one crispy chik'n, the other sweet potato and sunflower seeds — when my dad asked me if I know about Freemasons and the Illuminati.

This is not a question you expect from a 64-year-old Korean man who barely speaks English.

My interest piqued, I answered that yes, I'm familiar with those terms. He starts telling me about a Korean woman he'd been watching on YouTube for the past six months. An intelligent, incredibly brave woman who had studied medicine and was living in New York. But recently, her YouTube videos had been taken down because she had stepped into dangerous territory. She was so incredibly brave.

I wasn't sure where this was going, but I didn't have to wonder for long. His next question: Did I know about Pizzagate? About how Hilary Clinton was behind a child sex ring and led Satanic rituals that abused children?

Um. What? Was this really happening? "Wait, Dad, do you believe Pizzagate is real?"

"Well, it's possible, isn't it?"

I should be thankful that I didn't choke on my burger right then and there.

My stepmom started talking about she sometimes listens to the videos too when she's next to my dad and how she'd heard this information along with other knowledge bombs like how Bill Gates planned the coronavirus.

You've got to be kidding me.

She asked me what I thought of these stories. At this point I was laughing in disbelief because who expects to find out during a quiet Friday dinner that their God-fearing Asian immigrant parents have fallen prey to conspiracy theories so dumb that they make 9/11 Truthers look like the greatest minds of our generation?

Before I could say anything, my dad interjected, "Of course he's going to say that it's all fake news. He and other youngsters support Biden."

Every evening, after dinner, my parents go to their room and watch YouTube until they go to bed. I always assumed that it was all cooking videos and dramas, but nope, it turns out that the wonderful algorithms designed to maximize watch time have dragged them deep inside some nasty rabbit holes.

Thanks for radicalizing my parents, YouTube.

<aside> 👋 You're reading Road to Ramen, where I think aloud and share everything I learn in exploring the question: Can I make a living building things I love?

by DK the Human (@dk_the_human)

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