Benjamin argued that, in an age of mechanical reproduction, any work of art could and would eventually be repurposed towards perpetuating fascism. This goes for any work of art, even those who are politically neutral or are expressly anti-fascist in nature. Benjamin’s reasoning is that fascism will use any and all means at its disposal to further its ends, which includes the art of mechanical reproduction. The art found on anti-fascist posters can, with a minimum of editing and copywriting, be made to illustrate the very propaganda points the poster sought to argue against; by controlling the medium, the message is given. The act of individual expression does not survive translation into mass media – at economies of scale, everyone and everything is reduced to interchangeable parts who can be rearranged to serve any purpose. When it comes to deep fakes, however, I propose that we take the concept of a libidinal economy more literally than it is usually employed. In this essay, I will
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