The conspiracy theory around murdered Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich isn’t weird so much as sad: it drags a man’s fairly recent death into the spotlight in order to promote the idea of a “deep state” plot, based on evidence that’s either speculative or factually wrong. But it’s brought together a strange coalition of well-known subscribers — including the internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom.
Dotcom, founder of defunct cloud storage site Megaupload, isn’t just a high-profile proponent of the Seth Rich cover-up story. Last week, he claimed to be at the center of it. But in promising to blow the lid off the conspiracy, he mostly succeeded in proving how much traditional political divides have shifted, and how easily you can bend political paranoia toward mundane publicity stunts.
Who is Kim Dotcom?
Kim Dotcom (born Kim Schmitz) is primarily known as the creator of Megaupload, a “cyberlocker” site particularly popular with — and arguably catering to — pirates. In 2012, the Department of Justice shut down Megaupload and charged Dotcom with criminal copyright infringement. This kicked off a remarkably intense extradition battle, including a police raid on Dotcom’s New Zealand mansion, and the case remains open more than five years later.
During that time, Dotcom has launched another cloud storage site, released a poorly reviewed EDM album, and founded the recently revived New Zealand Internet Party. He’s a reliably colorful and belligerent figure in debates over copyright, surveillance, and other tech policy issues. The platonic ideal of Kim Dotcom may be this 2012 video for his song “Mr. President,” with its combination of internet-friendly politics, hyper-processed aesthetics, and shameless self-mythologizing.