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Gaslitcatfish: They’re Called Dreams Because You Must Be Asleep to Have Them
By Wayne McRae

The Project
We live in an age of illusions. Deepfakes, influencer “authenticity,” algorithm-driven feeds, and corporate narratives disguised as grassroots truth, to name just a few. Reality itself feels slippery.

But fakery isn’t new. Long before TikTok, there were cave walls lit by fire. Long before deepfakes, there were shamans conjuring spirits. Imagination was our first survival tool – and illusion, perhaps once neutral, has always been a tool ripe for exploitation.

This is the age of the gaslitcatfish – where illusion and deception aren’t glitches, they’re built into the system itself.

This book will be both a field guide and a manifesto: a cultural diagnosis of fakery across time, and a call to wake up to the illusions shaping our world.

Gaslitcatfish blends the raw energy of gonzo journalism with the depth of serious cultural analysis. It is not just another “hot take” on misinformation – it is a long-view investigation into why humans build illusions, how power sustains them, and what happens when they collapse.

Why Now?
For most of history, illusions spread slowly – painted on walls, carved in stone, whispered in myths. Today, they move at the speed of light. Social media, AI, and data-driven persuasion have turned it into infrastructure.
We can’t afford to stay asleep.

⦁ AI-generated images, videos, and voices blur reality and fiction to an extent not seen before. Access to information makes the phenomenon more obvious than at any other time.
⦁ Governments and corporations engineer narratives designed to confuse and exhaust.
⦁ Trust in institutions, media, and even neighbours is at historic lows.
⦁ History shows that fakery has always masked inequality – today it is simply more visible.

This is a cultural emergency. We need language, tools, and perspective to navigate it. Gaslitcatfish is designed to provide exactly that.

The Hook
George Carlin once said, “It’s called the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.” I adapted the quote into the subtitle for the Gaslitcatfish project to further illustrate the point.

This book is not about dismissing dreams. Dreams, stories, and imagination are what made us human. What I call gaslitcatfish is what happens when those same human gifts are twisted – when illusions are weaponized to manipulate belief, shape behavior, and manufacture consent.

Gaslighting is denying reality to sow doubt.
Catfishing is constructing false personas to lure belief.
Gaslitcatfish combines the two to illustrate the phenomenon.

The Book

70-80,000 words, structured as 15 chapters:
1. The Curtain Rises – Why this story matters now.
2. Smoke, Mirrors, and Memes – Imagination in caves and rituals.
3. Gods, Kings, and Magic Tricks – Authority as performance.
4. The Medieval Meme Machine – Cathedrals, relics, pageantry.
5. The Printing Press Panic – Fake news before Twitter.
6. Enlightenment Illusions – Reason cloaked in ideology.
7. Industrial Dreams for Sale – Advertising and mass persuasion.
8. Propaganda Wars – Illusion as state weapon.
9. The TV Dream Factory – Screens reshape everyday reality.
10. The Silicon Mirage – Early internet myths.
11. Catfish & Trolls – When digital fakery gets personal.
12. Algorithmic Illusions – Engagement over truth.
13. Synthetic Reality – Deepfakes and AI hallucinations.
14. The Metaverse Mirage – Living inside the illusion.
15. Survival Skills – Staying awake in the dreamworld.

Why Me
Because I don’t believe this phenomenon is new. Power and illusion have always been entwined with inequality, but where religion, feudalism, and tradition once masked them, today’s illusions are harder to miss. This book is my attempt to chart that long arc, from our ancestors painting caves to the synthetic realities of AI.

I write in a voice that cuts through the cultural noise: part offbeat, part philosopher, part cultural critic, and not part of the establishment. My background and perspective enable me to make complex ideas accessible without oversimplifying them. I’ve been developing Gaslitcatfish through essays, outlines, and audience feedback. Now, I’m ready to dedicate myself fully to producing the book.

The Plan
⦁ Writing Phase: 6–9 months of research and drafting.
⦁ Editing Phase: 3–6 months of refinement.
⦁ Publishing: Self-publishing or hybrid press, with digital + print editions.

Patrons will receive regular updates, early access to chapters, and acknowledgment in the final book.

Support Needed
To write full-time, I am seeking patronage to cover basic living and research costs over the next year.
⦁ Grassroots patrons (via Patreon/Substack): early chapters, Q&A sessions, behind-the-scenes updates.
⦁ Major patrons/sponsors: credited in the book, private conversations, and involvement in shaping the cultural impact of the project.

Writing a book like this requires space, research, and time. With patron support, I can:
⦁ Dedicate focused hours to drafting full-length chapters.
⦁ Pull from anthropology, history, psychology, and media studies.
⦁ Share essays and riffs along the way.
⦁ Build a community around the Gaslitcatfish idea.

Patrons get:
⦁ Early drafts and behind-the-scenes notes.
⦁ Patron-only posts and Q&As.
⦁ Acknowledgment in the finished book (for higher tiers).
⦁ A voice in shaping the project – your questions and suggestions influence the direction.

Why It Matters to You
This isn’t just about media literacy. It’s about reality literacy. The ability to see through illusions without losing the ability to dream. To stay awake in a world designed to keep you asleep. Gaslitcatfish is a field guide for anyone who feels the seams of reality slipping and wants tools to resist being gaslit, catfished, or lulled into submission.

Join Me
Gaslitcatfish is more than a book – it’s a wake-up call. By supporting this project, you help bring clarity to an age of confusion and arm readers with the tools to see through the illusions that rule their lives.