If you thought Paid Off, the show where contestants compete to pay off their student loans, was a symptom of a society with serious financial inequality issues, take a look at The Activist, a competitive reality television program in which contestants will compete to be the best at marketing their causes for a chance to present at the G20 World Leaders conference.

This highly surreal premise was announced yesterday to the slacked jaws of social media users who tended to find the entire thing rather perverse. Usher, Priyanka Chopra-Jonas, and Julianne Hough will serve as judges, evaluating six contestants through a series of challenges meant to test criteria such as digital campaigns and media stunts while the contestants promote causes linked to "health, education and the environment." It sounds like it will be a media studies competition a la The Apprentice more than a competition between activists to see which cause is most worthy of Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron's attention, but the fact that good causes were at the root of a game show rubbed many people the wrong way.

Usher: “Your TikTok dance about insulin rationing was inspiring, but 90 views is pathetic. For that reason, I'm out." https://t.co/r9hfBzKiXQ

— Public Citizen (@Public_Citizen) September 9, 2021

I'm confused: Is this an advanced Marxist critique to expose how competition for money and attention pits activists against each other + undermines deep change?

Or just the end of the world?

https://t.co/zyjLUMUPaP

— Naomi Klein (@NaomiAKlein) September 9, 2021

Pleased to announce I’ll be on the debut season of “The Activist,” working against my fellow activists to be the best activist, with Usher as my mentor.

A better world is possible, we just have to be willing to duel with other activists to the death, for entertainment!

— micah #StopCopCity (@micahherskind) September 10, 2021

this show has everything: a white lady who did blackface! the G20 summit! a reminder that capitalism comes for us all and words have no meaning! Usher!

— Montucky Woodsnacks (@tuckwoodstock) September 10, 2021

Priyanka Chopra has sent me home because I couldn't get "the rainforest" to trend on twitter

— JP (@jpbrammer) September 10, 2021

Those wanting to see if the show will be a late capitalism farce or somehow now as depressing as it sounds will have to wait until October 22nd, when it will debut on CBS.