The conservative creep of the internet

Mark Wahlberg and the next phase of the vibe shift.

Embedded is your essential guide to what’s good on the internet, written by Kate Lindsay and edited by Nick Catucci.

Today’s Embedded brought to you by Hallow! (JK) —Kate

---

The internet is a crucial tool for resistance, so why do we keep falling back into “black square activism”? Catch up on this weekend’s ICYMI—and give us a rating and review if you’re enjoying it!

---

On YouTube I usually watch a mix of lifestyle vlogs, craft vlogs, and decades-old staples like the Vlogbrothers and the Brit crew. As a result, I get a lot of Squarespace ads. Pet supplier Chewy is another common one, as are software programs like Photoshop. Amidst all that, the pre-roll ads I’ve recently started getting from Hallow stand out.

Hallow is an app like Calm or Headspace for prayer instead of meditation. For $69.99 a year, users gets access to the platform’s full suite of audio-guided Bible stories, prayers, meditations, sleep aids, and Christian music. I’d never heard of it before Mark Wahlberg intruded on my dinner viewing.

Wahlberg, Chris Pratt, and a lesser-known Christian actor, Jonathan Roumie, have been faces of the app’s Lent Pray40 promotional campaign. Gwen Stefani, who was a face of their Advent Day25 campaign, is still posting (much to the frustration of her followers). Wahlberg has asked me to “join him in prayer on Hallow” approximately 846 times while I’m trying to watch videos about how a 20-something woman in Norway spends her Saturdays.