"I Study the Online Spaces That Spawned the Buffalo Shooter. Here's What People Misunderstand.."

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://slate.com/technology/2022/05/red-pill-buffalo-shooter-online-hate-groups-research.html

When the news alert popped up on my screen, I froze. Another deadly mass shooting had taken place, and a racist white man had murdered innocent Black people. Once again, the communities I study had fomented mass murder. And I very much doubt this will be the last time.

I’ve been doing fieldwork in far-right online communities since 2016. I hang out on white supremacist Telegram channels, comb through QAnon threads on 8kun (formerly known as 8chan), and watch TikToks that claim COVID-19 is a globalist plot. Like most people who work with far-right content, I find it emotionally draining and unpleasant. But I’m also convinced that the mainstream acceptability of extremely racist and conspiratorial beliefs is a threat to American democracy.

While racism is woven into the fabric of the United States, the daily repetition of white supremacist viewpoints by Fox News and political elites alike is an organized backlash to racial progress. It justifies police violence against people of color, virulent anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant policy, and local campaigns against “critical race theory” which shut down any discussion of race in school. Many of these ideas are workshopped and circulated in extremist spaces before they filter into mainstream political discourse. Understanding how they operate– and how and why extremist beliefs spread– is crucial.

Days before the Buffalo shooting, my team released the culmination of two years of work systematically analyzing research on why people commit political violence. The killer was not a member of a white supremacist organization, but he saw himself part of a larger movement, one with which I am intimately familiar. His manifesto repeats the same arguments as thousands of documents in my archives; he uses the same slang and memes as my research subjects. He also kept a diary that detailed his progress preparing for the shooting. It includes his workout and diet regime, lengthy discussions of gear he purchased on eBay, and “evidence” for his white supremacist and anti-Semitic beliefs. These diaries demonstrate clearly that his “radicalization” was a process in which he was socialized into thinking the same way as the other people in these communities. He was not “mentally ill” or a “lone wolf.”

*snip*

[Carlitos Brigante]

1. K&R!

[Wounded Bear]

2. K & R...good read...nt

[LonePirate]

3. They are looking for people to blame besides themselves for their sorry lives.

The find a sense of community with people who feel the same way and blame other people for their own troubles. They are comfortable with rolling the clock back150-200 years as a solution to problems which they refuse to understand.

[certainot]

22. they're surrounded by the constant buzz of rw radio, which is ignored by the analysts and

has been attacking immigrants for over 20 years with the "dems are bringing them in to vote" so we need voter ID and other suppression legislation

blaming dems and brown people for 30 years on 1500 radio stations is somehow still ignored

[rubbersole]

27. This is not solvable without a "fairness doctrine"...

Or a change in ownership rules. Neither will get past this Supreme Court.

[certainot]

31. nope ...people at the uni of syracuse, near buffalo, are talking about dropping 9 rw radio stations

and if that happens many other schools and pro teams will start to do the same. penn state 11, u of fla 10, mich st 11, mich 7, - many other schools will have to follow - the more the cons complain the more advertisers will desert

the ad industry will find a way to break up the monopoly or force' balance' to keep advertisers from deserting by the thousands.

it is also inevitable someone will use the MIT prototype or other for mass auto transcription and analysis. that will do the same, especially if they do a retro study - it will become totally toxic to all but rw biz owners

[Kaleva]

4. Has there been research as to why people like us DUers are immune to such radicalization?

[Nevilledog]

5. I'd wager that education is a big factor. Oh, and not being sociopaths.

[Kaleva]

8. We reject it as it conflicts with our already formed world view.

Those without a set of solid core values could be most prone to radicalization.

[secondwind]

9. Bingo.

[wnylib]

14. I think that it is more than education.

Education addresses information, but when people take action for or against anything, it is emotion that motivates them.

[oldsoftie]

16. Yes. I've seen some very well educated people who are ignorant of TRUTH because they don't like it.

I know a software engineer who probably has 1/2 dozen degrees and he is still writing columns about the election fraud in GA.

[KS Toronado]

17. We should make high schools & colleges

have classes on "Critical Thinking Skills", we might get fewer repugs in the future.

[oldsoftie]

20. Hell, I'd think an ENGINEER would have been taught that!!

[Silver Gaia]

37. You would be surprised.

I used to teach (recently, not way in the past) a college-level course in critical thinking. Some students were already in careers that *should* require critical thinking skills and were just looking to move up in their field. I would always give them an assignment at the start of the course and again at the end in which they were asked to rate their critical thinking skills using various criteria. These students would often smugly rate themselves quite highly to start, often at the pinnacle, but by the end of the course some would downscale their initial rating, or at least express surprise at how much they thought they understood, but did not. Some even failed due to their stubborn arrogance. (I even had a flat-earther once!)

It was an eye-opening course to teach! I had no idea how widespread the problem with lack of critical thinking is in America prior to my experience with this course.

Teaching critical thinking skills should begin in elementary school, and there should be a required-for-graduation course in critical thinking in high school. IMHO.

[2naSalit]

43. +1

[orleans]

53. thanks for sharing this--it's very interesting. nt

[Silver Gaia]

56. I'm glad it was useful.

Thanks for the thanks.

[oldsoftie]

57. Up until a few yrs ago, I thought the talk about "flat earthers" was just a joke.

I couldn't grasp that people could actually think that in the 21st century

[Dukkha]

59. environment is a big factor

Their groups are 100% white male youths of impressionable age spent mostly in social isolation. Online gaming culture is ripe for indoctrination into being radicalized. Having no feminine influence as a balance fosters the angry white victimhood. Rather than making an effort to reflect internally and seek self improvement, they blame everyone else for their failure to have healthy social relationships in the physical world.

[wnylib]

65. Very true. Environment contributes

to how people feel about themselves and the world around them. Then they act on those feelings, not on rational thought or knowledge. It is emotion that drives action.

[greenjar_01]

7. LOL

[Celerity]

11. It would seem, based upon my historical DU searches, other posters' links, and also

visiting the batshit cray site (JPR) itself, that DU did have more than a handful of people who did become radicalised, but they fucked off to JPR after many were banned, whilst others choose not to accept the DU TOS.

That all said, in regards to this board, since I joined almost 4 years back, there has been very little RWNJ agitprop on parade here, other than some quickly banned trolls.

[AllyCat]

18. That was nuts. I had someone here I was friends with

Who went over there and encouraged me to join when it first started. I lasted less than 20 minutes. Basically just posted my support for HRC so they would ban me. Never talked to my ex-DU friend again.

[Celerity]

21. The site is basically one big anti vax, anti mask, Putin agitprop circle jerk now, with straight up

communists (not socialists, democratic or otherwise, although there are some of those too), I mean actual Trotskyites and revanchist Bolshies lumbering about for extra froth.

[AllyCat]

23. The real Jackpine Radical would NOT have approved of this.

He was always a true progressive and was level-headed.

[ShazzieB]

39. So that's what JPR stands for?

I've seen it mentioned on DU before, but had no idea what it was. Armed with thre phrase "jackpine radical," I googled and found https://jackpineradicals.com/.

I learn such interesting things here at DU!

[AllyCat]

44. His memories is on our DU member memorial page.

He lived in northern Wisconsin. They took his name and founded this horrible group.

[ShazzieB]

54. Ah, I see!

Thanks for the tip. I'll go look at the memorial page in just a moment!

[keep_left]

28. There are some more rational people over there, but...

...they are completely outnumbered. Add to that, the ownership of that site is doing a really poor job of moderation. And speaking of ownership, it has changed hands several times.

[yardwork]

47. I believe that site - and many like it - was funded by Russian troll farmers.

I believe that many people were duped and joined it sincerely believing the propaganda, but I'm convinced that it was funded for nefarious purposes: To divide Democrats, depress the Democratic vote, and help elect Trump.

[keep_left]

50. There are definitely people there like that. Some were so obvious that...

...they got banned in short order. "Clarity of Signal" was one; their blog is all-Putin, all-the-time.

[Kaleva]

36. I think some of those people were radicals from the git-go.

People who thought Obama, the Clintons, Biden, Pelosi and others weren't true progressives. Some of them didn't last long while others were able to last for years as they danced just up to the line. Right wingers usually get bounced early but there have been some who hung on for quite awhile. They often just stayed in the gungeon but it was when they strayed into GD that they got into trouble.

I lurk at places like Free Republic and AR-15 to see what those folks are talking about and despite years of exposure to that, I have no inclination to vote other then Dem or to stockpile guns and ammo.

[FailureToCommunicate]

15. Maybe because we were inoculated by parents, siblings, life...and have that brain part...

recognized as the empathy lobe?

In Right wingers that brain section is, shall we say, stunted.

[SergeStorms]

30. I was raised by right-wing parents...

and, as far as I know, I'm the only Liberal in the family. The family is whte bread all the way. My younger brother is a gun nut, fascist POS, who sponges off my Mom and Dad like he thinks it's owed to him.

Where did they go wrong (in their opinion) with me? They all show empathy toward each other and others like them, but it doesn't extend to anyone else.

[FailureToCommunicate]

34. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

Glad you turned out different.

[SergeStorms]

41. Well, they own god too....

to hear them tell it. I'm one of those godless Democrats you see.

And I'm deliriously happy I turned out different as well.

[FailureToCommunicate]

42. Different is good...

God or no god.

[PurgedVoter]

19. There are several diffences. The big one seems to be the ability to turn off empathy

Over my years of work in a very conservative school district, I have seen it over and over. Good, even wonderful people who are able to compartmentalize and turn off their empathy at will are common conservative teachers. As long as the environment encourages kindness, a lot of them are right at the front. But the moment the message is to hate the French, suddenly the French teachers find they are alone. The moment the message is to imprison innocent Mexican children in cages, the conservative Christian Spanish teachers suddenly find themselves in a conflicted position.

These poor teachers who automatically toe the Republican consensus, are trapped. They cannot stand up since they would lose their husbands, families, friends and even church if they did. Instead they must switch off their empathy and toe the line. In a day or less, the line is part of their programming.

The liberals know their limits and when to stay quiet. In a conservative community like mine the worst radical Conservatives know they can safely strike and no one will defend a liberal who gets uppity.

Bullies with bullies for parents train entire classes of kids year after year. Eventually a lot of people start to identify with the oppressors. Eventually they learn how to turn off their empathy.

We are the ones that can't or won't turn off our sympathy, empathy and care.

[NJCher]

29. I don't think you can turn off empathy

I think you can fake it, though. Sociopaths learn how to do it.

[PurgedVoter]

45. I love that you feel that way NJCher

It means your empathy is fully intact. A truly good person has trouble recognizing the nastiness that others are capable of.

Sadly I am a bit damaged though. I can in some cases manage it. Not in most, but I recognize the capability and I avoid it since, for me it would be a pathway to narcissism. Narcissism runs strongly in my family. I was lucky, my mother had peritonitis when I was born and a family with several daughters raised me for the first six months of my life. I give credit to a family that I don't know the name of and cannot possibly thank, for my being who I am.

So yes, by my experience it is possible to turn off empathy. Keeping it off and not regretting it is harder. I think the bad cases redirect their guilt feelings and blame it on others. It is a twisty and horrid thing. A lot of people have thought that not having emotion is the path to clear thinking. Thus the character Spock. I know that emotion is a sense and ignoring your compassion is ignoring truth. Note that these same people have no trouble ignoring truths that don't match what they choose to believe.

[NJCher]

52. Much to think about

In this post. Things I never considered.

[Harker]

33. Empathy.

It does wonderful things.

[yardwork]

48. It's an interesting question.

My opinion: The right wing propaganda seems to be aimed at people who harbor racist, fearful beliefs. The propaganda aimed at lefties sometimes also appeals to racist, anti-Semitic beliefs, but it also taps into some lefties' suspicion of capitalism, etc.

The propaganda is clever. It contains bits and pieces of truth wrapped up in big lies, and it works by tapping into its targets' fears and resentments.

Are we immune, or is it that they haven't gotten around to devising propaganda that would work on us? I don't know.

[Kaleva]

55. I agree with your first sentence

Your comment:

" The right wing propaganda seems to be aimed at people who harbor racist, fearful beliefs. "

I've read a number of posts here where a DUer talks about a friend or close relative who was a solid Democrat or liberal until they started watching Fox News everyday and now they are Magahats. I doubt they were progressives in the first place because who would watch Fox on a regular basis and only Fox unless one liked and agreed with what that network reported and the spin that network put on the news?

Your comment:

"Are we immune, or is it that they haven't gotten around to devising propaganda that would work on us?"

I don't think so because we get our news from a variety of reputable sources. When I lurk at FR, many of their sources are outfits that I haven't heard of before. News from mainstream sources such as The New York Times, WP, NBC, CNN and such is often attacked as being "Fake News". Here at DU LBN, the rule is "Post the latest news from reputable mainstream news websites and blogs.". News from fringe websites with shaky reputations isn't allowed but that's the norm at FR.

[yardwork]

58. I agree that Fox and hate radio are very effective, relentless forms of propaganda.

When I (very rarely) get exposed to Fox News I notice how racist and bigoted the content is - it's always pushing the message that other people (not white, not Christian, not straight, etc.) are literally destroying the country. And that weak, foolish liberals are enabling this. That's it. That's their message.

I can't listen to it for five minutes without being disgusted and repelled. BUT my personal identities, circumstances and upbringing make me unlikely to fall for those racist bigoted lies.

I know people - dear friends, family - who listened to a lot of AM radio and watched Fox News (for decades now). They believe wild, ridiculous, absurd things. They're often scared and angry. I am angry with them and disappointed because I feel that they must have had some racist leanings in order to be drawn in. Now they're much worse.

The people who did this (Murdochs, Mercers, Kochs, Putin, the list is long) succeeded in their goal of electing Republicans by tapping into white fears. Along the way they tore our country apart and may destroy our democracy. Putin might have intended that but I think the others just broke things out of stupid greed.

[greenjar_01]

6. Very good article because it describes the difficulty of the task

This is a war in information space, and many of the go-to, long-cherished beliefs about the liberal public sphere are actually dangerous and self-defeating in this war. At the same time, they are in some ways our only weapons. It's not going to be easy, that's for sure, and the outcome is not inevitable. We could well lose. Indeed, we probably are losing at the moment, and maybe badly.

[Hekate]

10. KnR

[Bernardo de La Paz]

12. There are always evil people who want others to do the dirty for them. . . . nt

[Traildogbob]

13. Notice these

Brave warriors for white, target kids and old people. You ever see one go into a true black Hood, with large numbers of younger black men, pretty heavily armed themselves. How is slaughtering old people gonna help the white race. They don’t breed, they don’t take jobs, they just go to church and help their on community, as Jesus did. Fucking punk ass cowards. Fuck a long trial and prison, execute them in front of their parents that created them and their hate, and armed them.

[Aviation Pro]

24. I've been ridiculed repeatedly for the following

Always watch the gyms, particularly the CrossFit and other HIIT ones. They are overt in their other affiliations especially when they openly hang that fucking Gadsen guideon.

[yardwork]

49. I noticed how many gyms openly defied orders to close during Covid.

There was a time when almost all businesses were closed to in-store customers but the gyms carried on, defying efforts to close.

[Johnny2X2X]

25. It's broken out of just online

Radicals don't even have to go online to get radicalized anymore, just listen to FOX News, Newsmax, and virtually any elected Republican and it's clear their aim is to get you to start killing your fellow Americans that you disagree with.

This is mainstream Republicanism now, they want to kill liberals and minorities.

[NQAS]

26. It will only get worse

Sure, sure, that's too easy.

But the follow on to that is that it will only get worse unless and until there is consistent pushback from so-called mainstream republicans. In large numbers. One or two will only be dismissed as RINOs.

Unfortunately, for any number of reasons, that won't happen. At all. So, back to the OP title - It will only get worse.

Mainly because republicans as a whole are spineless.

They are cowards who fear TFG and their own constituents. Fear as in absolutely terrified of being shamed, of being physically attacked, and losing elections. Remember, with few exceptions most elected republicans are not particularly bright. They are just fortunate to be in gerrymandered districts full of people just like them. Tribal, not particularly bright, etc.

Many so-called mainstream republicans are not in fact mainstream republicans. They maintain the fiction that they are rational when in fact they actually support the white supremacist and fascist fringe (which, of course, makes them no longer the fringe but the actual core of the party).

Not only will it get worse, but the fascists will only get better at being fascists. Instead of one gunman, there might be 2 or 3 or more. Instead of a grocery store, it might be a Democratic rally. Instead of guns, it will be bombs. Instead of a police response that results in the arrest of death of the perpetrators, we may eventually see police non-responses.

Let's face it, folks, these are people whose entire existence is rooted in outrage and victimhood. And even when they have the capacity to make a difference, they choose not to. See today's vote on funding the supply of baby formula. They are willing to let babies die to own the libs, to extend their victimhood, to enhance their outrage. And there's no cognitive dissonance.

[muriel_volestrangler]

32. Here's her paper, and most of the Executive Summary:

Far-Right Online Radicalization: A Review of the Literature

Radicalization research is full of uncertainty.
No specific type of person is vulnerable to radicalization, and most people who commit political violence are not mentally ill or alienated from society.
Radicalization is not caused by poverty, oppression, or marginalization.
There is no one way in which people are “radicalized.”
Viewing extremist media does not necessarily lead to adopting extremist beliefs or committing political violence.

In contrast to the “red pill” model, radicalization is gradual. Recruits slowly adopt the identities, emotions, and interpretations shared by a community. They conceptualize their problems as injustices caused by others, and justify using political violence against them.

The internet does not cause radicalization, but it helps spread extremist ideas, enables people interested in these ideas to form communities, and mainstreams conspiracy theories and distrust in institutions.

We conclude that “radicalization” is not a useful frame for understanding the spread of far-right and fringe ideas online.
It is analytically imprecise and morally judgmental
It doesn’t help us understand the role of media and digital technologies.
It is inextricably tied to a global security infrastructure targeting Islam.
It doesn’t account for the fact that fringe or far-right beliefs may change what people think is “true” and “false,” making it hard to find common ground.
The focus on violence ignores other worrying effects of mainstreaming far-right and fringe ideas.

https://citap.pubpub.org/pub/jq7l6jny/release/1

[hibbing]

35. Starting see an awful amount of III stickers on pickups

I guess the Swastika is a bit much for these guys right now, but in another couple years maybe.
Peace

[Rhiannon12866]

38. Twitter followup:

Link to tweet

[Torchlight]

40. On an academic level, I understand the psychological disconnects

we often go through, disconnects that many people allow to act as their primary catalyst for thought and deed, but after reading one of these manifestos (written by the MRA spree killer in CA a few years ago in Island Vista or some such city name) I realized that I just cannot grasp the mind and/or the group-think acting on these disconnects. And I'm pretty sure I fundamentally don't want to know.

A part of me *wants* to know how and why these guys think the way they do. Maybe it's morbid or idle curiosity or maybe I think the insight could serve me in some way. I watched those idiot crime shows in the eighties and devoured every documentary I could on serial/spree killers, white militia movements, etc.

After years passed and I (finally) grew into an adult however, I now tend to think I'm better off (me personally-- not speaking for anyone else) *not* knowing what drives or motivates them for two particular reasons. 1. I know about gazing into the abyss for too long and "lest ye become a monster," and 2. I think I'd rather remain abjectly ignorant of the darkness in their hearts and minds.

And knowing that these days, these guys are serving together in some informal, national group of "We-hate-everything-except-white-males-and-banging-women", corresponding with each other daily, laying plans of both mice and wee-men, and targeting and stalking anyone who doesn't carry a swastika in their heart is a rather disconcerting feeling.

I get that misery loves company, but now I'm beginning to think that miserable company is a self-feeding beast.

[lunatica]

46. Maybe it's a form of virulent addiction

Violence has been glamorized in tv and in blockbuster movies, like the die hard movies and Rambo movies. Witnessing violence as retribution can be emotionally satisfying so it isn’t strange that people become addicted to watching violence. These addictions can be exploited by people like Trump who has learned to be the drug supplier for rage. His entire life is just like the drug dealers’ lives, getting rich off his clients’ addictions and learning to exploit their addiction.

I’ve thought this for a very long time since I come from emotionally dysfunctional parents and grandparents. There were survival lessons to learn from a very young age. I was a teenager when I came to this addiction theory. It definitely played a huge role in my life choices in my late teens and adulthood. It still does.

People can just as easily be addicted to emotional pain which is somehow more accepted by people. Bad attention is still attention so it becomes acceptable.

Anyway that’s my take through 7 decades of life.

[yardwork]

64. Brilliant insight!

My theory is similar to yours. I think the propagandists tapped into people's fears and resentments. They built propaganda based on deep knowledge of people's psychologies. What motivates people, what drives them. The content is addictive so people keep watching. The more they watch the more they are brainwashed.

I think it was done out of greed. Very wealthy people had a simple goal: manipulate people into electing right-wingers, who will in turn protect rich people. Keep the masses distracted by ramping up their fears and resentments so they don't notice that rich people are taking more and more.

[yardwork]

60. It is a self-feeding beast!

The internet has allowed like-minded people to find one another and reinforce their group beliefs. If those groups are built around an identity of being outside mainstream beliefs, they're vulnerable to infiltration and manipulation. Anyone who taps into their fears and resentments gets a foothold. Look at the "Rapture ready" sites where Christians who believe that Jesus is going to walk into their suburban neighborhood tomorrow gather and reinforce their beliefs. (I haven't visited any of those sites in a long time but I have a bad feeling that they've been recruited into Trump's army. Last I looked they were a bunch of middle-aged white women who had placed their crafting tables in east-facing windows so they could see Jesus when he walks out of the rising sun tomorrow. They are likely targets for the racist fear-mongering that's going on now.)

Look at sites for affluent liberal white people living in Northern California who believe vaccinations cause autism and that "natural" remedies are better than "pharmaceutical poison." They were sitting ducks for the latest wave of propaganda.

[uponit7771]

62. +1,

[live love laugh]

51. "...an organized backlash to racial progress" should be criminal.

[yardwork]

61. Technically, it's unconstitutional but that's why they packed the Court.

What better way to roll back civil rights than to pack the Supreme Court with people who believe the Constitution gives rights only to land-owning white men?

[uponit7771]

63. +1,