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It has now been several very long days since the Super Bowl and Bad Bunny’s raucous, joyous, extremely popular halftime show, stuffed with celebrities, heartfelt tributes to Puerto Rico and Latino culture, and a pointed listing of most countries in the Americas. Meanwhile, as one cannot help but be aware, at the same time on Sunday Turning Point USA sponsored a stream of Kid Rock in jorts and a fedora for an “alternative,” apparently pre-recorded half-time show. He performed from an echoing warehouse somewhere near Atlanta, alongside musicians who are best described as “names who might appear deep within your Spotify shuffle if you’ve ever listened to new country.” Post-show, Kid Rock has had to devote some time to insisting he did not lip sync, which is always a good sign.

The claim that Kid Rock achieved “cultural victory” over Bad Bunny is a salvo in a proxy war.

The battle, in other words, has been decided. And yet portions of the Trump administration and MAGA fight on, insisting that Bad Bunny has been humiliated, Kid Rock and his jorts have been vindicated, and the whole thing has in fact gone extremely well. In case that doesn’t work, Congressman Randy Fine (R-Florida) is also suggesting the FCC investigate Bad Bunny’s halftime show for vulgarity, as soon as someone in a position of power learns Spanish and can confirm what he said.

In many ways, the disingenuous—and seemingly endless—right-wing reaction to Bad Bunny’s half-time show is a study in the small-scale production of hamfisted disinformation. Take, for example, Trump-allied MAGA propagandist Benny Johnson, who once worked as Turning Point’s “chief creative officer” and........

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