I didn't want to comment on all this because Oliver Anthony seems like a genuinely great guy, but Matt Walsh's sanctimonious word vomit forced my hand.

There was nothing authentic about this song's rise to popularity.

Jason Howerton seems to be the key player involved in the astroturfing campaign.

He's the CEO of Reach Digital, which helps "media companies and political influencers grow their social media footprint exponentially."

Jason was one of the first accounts heavily promoting this song as he provided a background on Oliver Anthony and his faith.

Jason indicates that Oliver Anthony had been contacted to record the song. Jason also admits he even covered the cost to produce the record.

So who wrote the song? And how did so many big right wing-accounts have the video ready to post simultaneously?

You can like the song, and like it's message without gaslighting us into believing this was an authentic viral hit by a simple country man with a mic and a guitar.

"Launch a product, get over 1.3 million hits" overnight was the article Mr. Howerton shared on LinkedIn.

This was another Conservative Inc AstroTurf campaign.

Embrace it.

Nitter

Is this Oliver Anthony guy an industry plant? : CountryMusicStuff

A comment...

Land values vary in rural Farmville. But lets say that his 90 acres is worth half a million. That would be roughly 5 thousand dollars in land tax per year. Now I don't know about you, but my working class family could not afford to pay $5G in taxes on land a year. So does he have some source of income that is above the average blue collar worker? He is not farming the land, yet, by his own admission.

I think the most likely way he can afford that land is by receiving government subsidies for not farming that land. Which would mean he is on food system welfare. Maybe he should sell the land instead of receiving those subsidy fudge rounds.