The alt right pipeline spreads intolerant messages that include extremely racist, misogynistic and anti semitic rhetoric. These online groups have striking, significant effects. Nowadays, hate groups can easily reach people all around the world via social media. Alice Conry, Staff Writer March 29, 2023 Since the rise of high speed internet there has been an alarming increase in online, alt right extremism. Specifically the use of the alt right pipeline, which is a concept describing how right wing extremists use online spaces to radicalize people into hyper conservative views like white supremacy, antisemitism and misogyny. It has been tied to multiple violent threats and actions all around the world. People in extremist groups can use social media algorithms to make certain content pull viewers to extreme ideas. After Covid, and during a time when the lives of youth are more and more online, young people are often the targets of these online groups. The alt right pipeline often spreads intolerant messages that include extremely racist, misogynistic and anti semitic rhetoric. These online groups have striking, significant effects. Many violent events, both online and offline, have been linked to alt right communities. Mass shootings, assaults and even large political events like the January 6th insurrection have had ties to online groups. Not only do hate groups change the lives of the people who go down the alt right pipeline but they are detrimental to general society. Nowadays, hate groups can easily reach people all around the world via social media. That wasn’t always the case. Brandon Schorsch, the combating hate organizer for Jewish Community Action says, “[Hate groups have been here for decades], the difference between now and then is that [recruitment] can happen faster. We have access to the internet in the palm of our hands [and] hate groups can work together internationally now.” This kind of access to the public allows hate groups to spread their message at a much faster rate and grants access to extremely large groups of people. In the early internet, before major social media platforms existed, many of these groups spent time on forums like ‘4Chan’ and ‘Reddit’. These websites were often visited by people to discuss niche media and connect with people over similar interests. Those sites were relatively unregulated and didn’t have strict policies against hate speech, so hate groups made themselves at home in the corners of the internet. People who were just looking for community ended up coming across extremist content and ideology. Today you don’t need to look far to find alt right content, it’s present on almost all social media. Schorsch says, “Nowadays you can [run into hate groups] through the course of a binge of a ton of youtube videos or having a stream on in the background. It was a lot harder to engage with that much content, that quickly a few short years ago.”
via shsouthener: The Alt-Right pipeline: a real world threat running rampant in high schools