Intimate Communities of Hate: Why Social Media Fuels Far-Right Extremism

Social media has fueled a surge in far-right extremism by providing a platform for radical anti-democratic ideologies. This book examines 20 years of conversations on Stormfront.org to understand the emotional and social effects of being part of an extremist community. It suggests that online radicalization is not merely an effect of repeated one-sided arguments but is driven by rituals of shared attention and emotion that create emotional energy and a sense of intersubjectivity, weaving participants into a political tribe.

Format: Hardback
Length: 132 pages
Publication date: 02 February 2024
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Social media has had a profound impact on political life, leading to a surge in far-right extremism. In recent years, radical anti-democratic ideologies have gained mainstream acceptance, fueled by the energy of extreme online environments. However, why do far-right extremist movements thrive so effectively on social media platforms? What happens within the fringe online spaces that act as incubators for violent extremists? To address these questions, this book delves into the "murder capital of the racist Internet," examining 20 years of conversations on Stormfront.org. Through a combination of computational text analysis and close reading, we seek to gain a deeper understanding of the emotional and social effects of belonging to an extremist community. By building upon the tradition of Émile Durkheim and Randall Collins, we propose a new framework for understanding online extremism. Our findings suggest that online radicalization is not merely the result of repeated one-sided arguments, as often portrayed by metaphors such as "echo chambers." Instead, social media politics can be better understood through Durkheim's concept of rituals, which involve moments of shared attention and emotion that create emotional energy and a sense of intersubjectivity, ultimately weaving participants into a political tribe that is united, energized, and ready to act.

Dimension: 216 x 138 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367622039