Assuming we're somehow in an alternate timeline, when did it begin?

Looking at significant shifts in global politics, a good candidate might be 1989-1993, which coincides with [the SCC being "shelved"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconducting_Super_Collider). Maybe this did have some catastrophic event where our universe shifted to one where all the communist systems collapsed. The relative peace of the transition away from communism is interesting if you compare it to the bloodshed of other revolutions.

Another candidate may be the [Higgs Boson test on 4 July 2012](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgs_boson#Search_before_4_July_2012), which coincided with the precipitous rise of SJW identity politics and the outing of globalism. Soros, although active, was not known to be so influential before this period and all the SJW buzzwords were not used practically at all. Another thing is the rise of ISIS, which did not really exist before this date. AQI was almost defeated by the surge and the "rebels" were still the mostly secular FSA. The complete shift in the Western mindset towards white guilt and globalism over the last few years has been hard to comprehend for many, maybe - I can't speculate how - this universe isn't the one from before that date?