Irony-driven collective following can substitute entirely for genuine fandom

Evidence

Their videos pulled massive numbers but existed in a weird limbo. As Max Read asked: “Are there ‘real’ or ‘authentic’ fans of the Costco Guys out there? Or is their presence in my field of vision entirely the product of an unspoken collective agreement to ironically follow them closely as you would a ‘real’ celebrity, because it allows you to make funny jokes on X?” — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 825