Three years ago, lawyer Jordan van den Berg was an obscure TikTok creator who made videos that mocked real estate agents.

But today the 28-year-old is one of the most high-profile activists in Australia.

Posting under the moniker Purple Pingers, Mr van den Berg has been taking on the nation’s housing crisis by highlighting shocking renting conditions, poor behaviour from landlords, and what he calls government failures.

It is his vigilante-style approach - which includes helping people find vacant homes to squat in, and exposing bad rentals in a public database - that has won over a legion of fans.

Some have dubbed him the Robin Hood of renters.

  • jkrtn
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    7 months ago

    It seems like there is a step in between, like, “America is the victim of injustice because it isn’t given priority status in the world news sub that has to be distinct because all the other news subs end up being about America.” Some sort of persecution complex?

    • Alien Nathan Edward@lemm.ee
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      7 months ago

      being a victim is great as long as you’re not actually a victim. you get to be outraged and make demands of people and, because no one is actually victimizing you at all, there’s no downside!

    • Mango@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      “Isn’t given priority status” is totally the same as “specifically banned here”. Move them goalposts harder.

      • jkrtn
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        7 months ago

        You transitioned into panicking that cishet white Christians are being persecuted because there is a sub for US news and a different sub for other news, but it is the other people’s hyperbole that is wrong, got it.

        • Mango@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          You just go on ahead and make up more stuff to argue about. I’ll watch since my input isn’t really represented here.

          • jkrtn
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            7 months ago

            Your input isn’t represented? Uh oh, sounds like you are being silenced and persecuted!

            • Mango@lemmy.world
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              7 months ago

              More like ‘brave new world’-ed. You’re just making a bunch of noise hoping that I dig a hole and people avoid me.