Adolf & Algorithms: A Personal Journey Out of the Alt-Right

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In this episode of the It’s Going Down podcast, we talked with Faraday Speaks, a YouTuber who has begun to share their personal journey out of the Alt-Right online world. While never involved in an organized group, Faraday’s story represents the experiences of many rank-n-file millennials who went from “edgy teens,” to video gamers excited by Gamergate, to radicalized Trump fans that were pushed towards fascism and ethno-nationalism.

Over the course of our discussion we cover:

• The importance of YouTube as a force and path for far-Right radicalization.
• The importance of gamer culture and Gamergate in the rise of the Alt-Right.
• The use of websites like 8chan and 4chan as online organizing forums where mass murderers are presented as martyrs and strategy is discussed.
• The role of Donald Trump among the wider Right.
• The future of the far-Right and Alt-Right following the Unite the Right demonstrations and the 2020 elections.
• The need for anti-capitalists and leftists to increase our capacity in making engaging video material. Contrapoints is presented as an example.
• Looking at the growth of the Alt-Right as a public health crisis.

Well, that debate was pretty epic. So now that @NickJFuentes career is over which ship will save his racist raft?

— Caleb Cain – Faradayspeaks (@Faradayspeaks) April 7, 2019

We hope that this interview offers an insight into the conditions, both online and off, that have given rise to the nihilism which has allowed the Alt-Right to present itself as a light in dark times.

More Info: Faraday Speaks YouTube channel and on Twitter.