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PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   18233 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026

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This particular incident? Almost certainly a nothingburger.

The Telegraph has now carried the story, and West Midlands Police have issued a press release saying they are now investigating who the African men were that carried out the attack (after initally saying that everything was fine on social media).

My prediction is that BBC News will be covering this tomorrow, along with the centrist papers like The Times. The Guardian will (reluctantly) follow the day after.

Depending on your definition of 'nothingburger', I would say the story is gaining traction. The victim will appear in court in a couple of weeks so I expect there'll be further coverage from that, whether he is found innocent or guilty.

Depending on your definition of 'nothingburger', I would say the story is gaining traction.

While there isn't a bright-line test, I'd say a somethingburger story is one that materially moves the Overton window, materially shifts opinions, results in widespread and prolonged civil unrest, or results in palpable policy changes/updates. A nothingburger story is a monster-of-the-week episode with little-to-no impact on the overarching plot line.

A story can gain traction but still ultimately yield a nothingburger, for example the murder of Jen Angel, the murder of Ryan Carson, or any of the many stories during #StopAsianHate (RIP).

As such, I don't expect the Birmingham incident to have a material marginal effect upon the Nowak homicide on these fronts.

Many incidents add up.

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