Out of Scope Issue #180: The Calgorithm

Plus: October Surprise Szn and Journo Drama

Banner Image: Christopher Kamrani / The Athletic

Happy Monday! We’re just barely a week into Q4, and it’s already a chaotic time, especially over at the University of California, where we’re examining some cutting-edge fan behavior. But first…

📡 ON OUR RADAR

• Last week’s port strike and agreement are the latest developments in a series of crises that could shape next month’s presidential election. The future of the respective campaigns lies in their ability to inspire confidence and trust in their ability to navigate the next surprise October throws their way.

• LVMH, the largest luxury conglomerate in the world, announced the sale of the late Virgil Abloh’s brand Off-White to Bluestar Alliance last week. Fashion followers and fans of the designer found the announcement in extremely poor taste—the news dropped on what would have been Abloh’s 44th birthday (the beloved designer died of cancer in 2021).

• Two Harvard students have built smart glasses with facial recognition tech that can instantly identify people and pull personal information from the web—something big tech has refused to release due to the associated risks. The project raises major privacy concerns, blurring the line between moving with relative anonymity and living in a world where personal details are instantly accessible.

💡ON OUR MINDS: The Calgorithm

• Football is in full swing, and this past weekend for the first time ever, ESPN’s College GameDay broadcast from Berkeley before the University of California’s matchup against the University of Miami.

• Following the school’s transition this year to a new spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Cal’s Golden Bears have been bolstered this season by an increasingly engaged fan movement on social media, dubbed the Calgorithm.

• The meme-fueled movement capitalizes on California stereotypes and parodies the school’s famous social justice culture, with online fans intimidating and insulting opposing teams with threats of losing to the “Woke Agenda.”

• While trolling tactics are timeless, the delivery is cutting-edge; AI-generated images and deep-fried Photoshops are the medium of choice for the Calgorithm.

• The surge of support and national attention on the program solidifies a new tech-empowered era for CFB and fan behavior; one that embraces irony, welcomes virality, and, above all, is impossibly self-aware and connected to the broader cultural and political zeitgeist.

🥊 QUICK HITS:

In case you missed these reads:

• Support for nuclear power reveals a massive gender gap, making it the most male-coded issue today—more so than abortion rights or working moms.

• After being placed on leave over her undisclosed “relationship” with RFK Jr., New York reporter Olivia Nuzzi accuses her ex-fiance, Politico’s Ryan Lizza, of blackmail and harassment.

• Internet culture journalist Taylor Lorenz announced she’s leaving The Washington Post and all legacy media to run her own publication, User Mag, on Substack.