"Proof of Body"

The essay argues that social media has fragmented shared reality by replacing trusted institutions with self-validating proof, and that the result is a lack of trustworthy institutions rather than simply corrupt ones. The author, who spent a year testing "extremely online" health practices such as a high-egg diet and mewing, says that bodybuilder physiques serve as "proof of body" for fitness claims, much as activists' embodied identities serve as proof on the left. The piece traces this to neoliberal-era elite capture, platform advertising incentives, and examples such as Liver King's steroid use and InfoWars' lead-tainted ashwagandha.