I can't decide if this is a "techbro doesn't understand human factors" post or not, especially considering geohots reputation.

I do believe it is possible Anthropic are legitimately trying to start political discourse, but if they are they are either sacrificing themselves on purpose or shooting themselves in the foot. Others in the comments here are pointing out that there are many incentives for them to get into politics. Maybe they see possible outcomes worth the short term problems.

If it is just marketing and FUD, it's worth considering that a good lie is usually based in truth.

Let's say Anthropic were a "hippie organisation willing to sacrifice revenue for morals" (or pick your own, I'm just giving an example). Could they play the politics game better?