White Nationalists on Twitter Have Grown 600 Percent Since 2012, Study Finds - Polidicks

If you think that it's the political ideology of the 'left' (which is an incredible vague term) that's causing the rise of extreme right wing groups, then I don't know what to say. It's down to social and economic factors, as well as the elements of fear raised by politicians such as Nigel Farage or Trump or LePen and others. People don't start joining these groups because of 'SJWs' or that shite, they join these groups because they might be missing something in their life, or they believe they're under threat - they need enemies. I would say that's also what causes people to join the radical left to - these fears manifest themselves in different ways. The vast majority of people don't react to mere ideology - they react to what these see as threats and their own circumstances.

[QUOTE=TheBloodyNine;51003391]People don't become neo-Nazis because evil SJWs are mean to conservatives. Like how hard do you guys have to stretch to seriously try and blame racism on leftists.[/QUOTE] When people agree that center left are 'basically neo nazis' then yes, you become neo nazi because evil sjws are mean to conservatives... at least to the SJWs you become a nazi, or better yet, you always were a nazi you cis white scum etc etc etc.

[QUOTE=Guriosity;51003364]I am going to quote Zyler and leave it at that.[/QUOTE] You probably don't want to quote me when I'm disagreeing with you. Just because there are shitty people on both sides doesn't mean that you can generalize entire political categories as supporting the actions of those shitty people. The whole point of acknowledging that there are shitty people on both sides is so that shitty people are not associated with 'The Left' or 'The Right', they are just shitty people. It's disengenious to claim that either the 'SJWs' or the 'white-supremacist-neo-nazi-donald-trump-supporters' are representative of 'The Right' OR 'The Left'. They aren't representative of anybody except themselves. If you want to argue against 'The Left' or 'The Right', then make an argument against the ideas they represent and not a small group of shitty people who do not represent an entire vaguely-defined political category. It's not as if there are no arguments you could make against the concepts of Liberalism, Conservatism, Socialism, etc. [editline]5th September 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=Blizzerd;51003434]When people agree that center left are 'basically neo nazis' then yes, you become neo nazi because evil sjws are mean to conservatives... at least to the SJWs you become a nazi, or better yet, you always were a nazi you cis white scum etc etc etc.[/QUOTE] I've seen people who argue that anyone left of center is a 'SJW'. It's the same thing. What does 'SJW' mean? I think it's a subjective and somewhat meaningless pejorative term, like calling someone a nazi because they disagree with you.

As someone who used to be interested in the far right movements, It's laughable when you see who are actually behind the profiles of these users.

[QUOTE=BlackMageMari;51003428]If you think that it's the political ideology of the 'left' (which is an incredible vague term) that's causing the rise of extreme right wing groups, then I don't know what to say. It's down to social and economic factors, as well as the elements of fear raised by politicians such as Nigel Farage or Trump or LePen and others. People don't start joining these groups because of 'SJWs' or that shite, they join these groups because they might be missing something in their life, or they believe they're under threat - they need enemies. I would say that's also what causes people to join the radical left to - these fears manifest themselves in different ways. The vast majority of people don't react to mere ideology - they react to what these see as threats and their own circumstances.[/QUOTE] That's exactly right. There are numerous social and political factors that could lead someone to join politically radical groups, it's intellectually lazy to blame everything wrong with the world on some vague political boogeyman like 'The Left' or 'The Right'. I notice that people, not just in this thread but elsewhere too, tend to blame groups of people for things they are equally responsible for doing. Particularly people get (understandably) upset when they get generalized, demonized and marginalized by others, but then they turn around and do the exact same thing to other people. It's understandable when you're feeling threatened and you feel like your identity is under attack, but it's not justified to do the exact same thing that you don't want done to yourself to other people.

[QUOTE=CroGamer002;51000411]Internet echo chambers sure did enable far-right to raise. In actual public spaces, they'd be shut down by public pressure and never allowed to grow.[/QUOTE] To be fair, it's done the same for the far-left as well.

[QUOTE=Zyler;51003435] I've seen people who argue that anyone left of center is a 'SJW'. It's the same thing. What does 'SJW' mean? I think it's a subjective and somewhat meaningless pejorative term, like calling someone a nazi because they disagree with you.[/QUOTE] Agreed, butt those are also the people that are 'the reasonable progressive spectrum' atm. So when left of center calls everyone a mm right of them nazis, that means mainstream calls everyone a mm right of them nazis... when center right or extreme right calls center SJW's they are laughed at or riduculed by mainstream. Both do the same, but left is given the benefit of the doubt since its considered the progressive thing to do. and that is currently fueling the rise of the right... I say this as someone on the extreme left for US standards.

[QUOTE=TheBloodyNine;51003391]People don't become neo-Nazis because evil SJWs are mean to conservatives.[/QUOTE] People don't become neonazis because of sjw rhetoric, yes. Neonazis get get disgruntled people who tolerate them when overly-broad discourse gets thrown around like it is nowadays.

[QUOTE=Blizzerd;51003472]Agreed, butt those are also the people that are 'the reasonable progressive spectrum' atm. So when left of center calls everyone a mm right of them nazis, that means mainstream calls everyone a mm right of them nazis... when center right or extreme right calls center SJW's they are laughed at or riduculed by mainstream. Both do the same, but left is given the benefit of the doubt since its considered the progressive thing to do. and that is currently fueling the rise of the right... I say this as someone on the extreme left for US standards.[/QUOTE] Which 'mainstream' are you talking about? The online news media, television news media or the general public? The online news media is biased either way and so is television. You've got Fox News and MSNBC as well as Gawker and Breitbart, all biased to an equal degree on both 'sides' of the political spectrum. The general public doesn't give a damn one way or the other. [editline]5th September 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=DarkMonkey;51003538]People don't become neonazis because of sjw rhetoric, yes. Neonazis get get disgruntled people who tolerate them when overly-broad discourse gets thrown around like it is nowadays.[/QUOTE] People who are definitely not neo-nazis do not suddenly become neo-nazis, but people who are susceptible (or undecided) can be influenced by the rhetoric.

[QUOTE=Zyler;51003541]Which 'mainstream' are you talking about? The online news media, television news media or the general public? The online news media is biased either way and so is television. You've got Fox News and MSNBC as well as Gawker and Breitbart, all biased to an equal degree on both 'sides' of the political spectrum. The general public doesn't give a damn one way or the other.[/QUOTE] The mainstream zeitgeist, the public eye of what the mainstream is.

[QUOTE=Blizzerd;51003549]The mainstream zeitgeist, the public eye of what the mainstream is.[/QUOTE] How do you find out what that is, objectively? It sounds like you have a subjective view of what 'the public eye of the mainstream' is. Do you have studies to back this up?

[QUOTE=Cuel;51002979]600% in the last four years? How much has the Twitter user base increased since then? Has to be around the same or more. Not to mention bots.[/QUOTE] The amount of active Twitter users rose by 227% from the beginning of 2012 up until now. [URL="http://www.statista.com/statistics/282087/number-of-monthly-active-twitter-users/"]Source[/URL] But honestly I don't believe it's actual nazis we are dealing with here. I'm pretty sure this is heavily linked to the alt-right movement, which has its home mainly on the internet. So far it was closed communities for them, but as relatively popular they have become in the past few years I guess they just feel confident enough to take their opinions to a public forum now. But they still stay on the internet about it of course. Take a guess what kind of people we are dealing with here [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/OMAAt3O.jpg[/IMG]

[QUOTE=Zyler;51003551]How do you find out what that is, objectively? It sounds like you have a subjective view of what 'the public eye of the mainstream' is. Do you have studies to back this up?[/QUOTE] Everyone has a subjective view of this, but when someone calls someone a nazi for critiquing merkel about the immigrant crisis and they get retweets and comments its pretty easy to see what the zeitgeist on twitter is and where the lines are drawn... especially if media mingle in and try to take the side of someone. Not empirically of course, but the general zeitgeist is palpable and measurable by being confronted with this behavior over and over and over.

What is the alt-right movement? Is it loosely connected social media groups? Do they poll anywhere?

[QUOTE=Blizzerd;51003647]Everyone has a subjective view of this, but when someone calls someone a nazi for critiquing merkel about the immigrant crisis and they get retweets and comments its pretty easy to see what the zeitgeist on twitter is and where the lines are drawn... especially if media mingle in and try to take the side of someone. Not empirically of course, but the general zeitgeist is palpable and measurable by being confronted with this behavior over and over and over.[/QUOTE] You can use studies to back up what you're saying, I try to only make statements that I can back up with studies and research I've collected. Otherwise you're going off your own anecdotal experiences and I can simply counter it by telling you I've had the opposite experience of people calling me an 'SJW' simply for disagreeing with them (which I have) and that I've seen people doing so as quite a common occurrence. I would argue that the current zeitgeist is one of people with a multitude of political beliefs but with an increasing pressure on individuals to make their political affirmations a part of their own identity due to the prevalency of 24/hr news broadcasts and non-stop social media postings about constant existential threats to their livelihoods, which is in turn causing increasing partisanship and further loss of nuance in political discussion due to identity politics. [video=youtube;QA783XpBx1A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA783XpBx1A[/video] [editline]5th September 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=Jame's;51003666]What is the alt-right movement? Is it loosely connected social media groups? Do they poll anywhere?[/QUOTE] It's supposedly a loose conglomerate of people who hold right-wing views but don't fall under the classical ideas of conservatism and instead criticize both the 'cuckservatives' whom they see as soft as well as 'the left'.

[QUOTE=Zyler;51003671]You can use studies to back up what you're saying, I try to only make statements that I can back up with studies and research I've collected. Otherwise you're going off your own anecdotal experiences and I can simply counter it by telling you I've had the opposite experience of people calling me an 'SJW' simply for disagreeing with them (which I have) and that I've seen people doing so as quite a common occurrence.[/QUOTE] Thats fair even though that also fits my narrative... the right calls the center left SJW, the left calls the center right Nazis but the left is supported by the zeitgeist of most people and most respected media. there is no more proper dialogue.

[QUOTE=Blizzerd;51003682]Thats fair even though that also fits my narrative... the right calls the center left SJW, the left calls the center right Nazis but the left is supported by the zeitgeist of most people and most respected media. there is no more proper dialogue.[/QUOTE] I feel as though you are generalizing a large number of people to suit your particular narrative. You're throwing a large number of moderate left-wing political advocates who argue for things like gay rights and trans rights under the bus and merging them with a vaguely defined group of bad apples you call 'SJWs'. I can't point out how or why you've gotten this wrongful impression because you have no evidence supporting your claim, just your anecdotal experiences that I can neither dispute nor verify. Here's something you might find interesting: [URL]http://www.wnyc.org/story/133114-does-npr-have-a-liberal-bias/#transcript[/URL] It's a podcast from NPR where they consider the possibility that they have a liberal bias. So they ask conservative viewers to listen to the show for a week or two and record every example of a biased claim that they hear and they discuss it.

[QUOTE=Zyler;51003696]I feel as though you are generalizing a large number of people to suit your particular narrative. You're throwing a large number of moderate left-wing political advocates who argue for things like gay rights and trans rights under the bus and merging them with a vaguely defined group of bad apples you call 'SJWs'.[/QUOTE] No, im not. I haven't even recognized 'sjw' are actually a thing in my post.

[QUOTE=Blizzerd;51003702]No, im not. I haven't even recognized 'sjw' are actually a thing in my post.[/QUOTE] Oh okay, I was confused because you weren't using 'SJW' in quotation marks. I still think you're generalizing a large number of people when you reduce everything down to 'The Left' and 'The Right', it's an oversimplification.

[QUOTE=RaptorJGW;51003569] [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/OMAAt3O.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] Literal wehraboos?

I don't think their methodology here is all that great. It doesn't look like they're factoring for bots, alts, and disingenuous shitposters. Plus, if they're really mainly using followers as a metric, they're going to run into a host of other issues. Following someone on twitter could mean almost anything and isn't necessarily an endorsement. These aren't just factors that can be ignored, and all of them are going to inflate the observed growth to some degree. The author of the study agrees: [QUOTE]Some white nationalist activity on social media is arguably intended as general harassment or ugly pranking, as opposed to sincere ideological commitment.17 Other activity may be related, directly or indirectly, to well-documented Russian propaganda efforts to aggravate racial tensions in the West.18 Ultimately, these questions fell outside the scope of this study, but they are far from insignificant. Additional study focusing on these issues would be a fruitful and important avenue for future research[/QUOTE] There are how many taybot clones floating around? Also, we know that trolls have really ramped up the alt account creation to avoid twitter's recent crackdown on harassment. The observed jump was right after 2014, which is right when everyone and their brother started writing articles on twitter's "harassment problem" and massively fed the trolls. We probably shouldn't ignore this observed growth, but I don't think we've found anything yet worthy of sounding an alarm for.

[QUOTE=Guriosity;51002498]This is happening due to what I call the flashlight effect. To explain what I mean by this, I need to reference The Tea Party. When The tea party began, it was about libertarian ideals. Restoring the liberties mentioned in the bill of rights. That what I remember any ways. When leftist media outlets and persons of influence began to accuse them of being bigoted for not adhereing to the liberal world view, is when the real racists and bigots showed up and infesting the whole movement. The same thing is happening now with the elections and what not. Bunch of people disagree with leftists groups and politicians. Those persons of influence of leftist label them bigoted for not adhering to progressive values. Real racists begin to infest and wreck the persons or organizations that got labeled bigoted by leftists. Now Leftists have created monsters where before there were none.[/QUOTE] I see it a different way. I see groups that were opposed to civil liberties and adopted regressive ideologies in a multicultural country naturally attracting the detritus of society, the degenerates and fools stuck in the last century. These monsters weren't created by the Left, the conservatives seduced them, and their ideals are naturally right-wing. There's a pretty big gap between fiscal conservatism and white nationalism, but it's a much, much smaller gap than there is between social liberalism and their ideals. The tea party and republicans were the only 'official' political mouthpiece for these people. If you want to blame someone for creating this xenophobia and fear, blame American Media and the Bush administration in the decade following 9/11. Even CNN, which I had thought a reputable organization, became a fearmongering propaganda machine. Fox? These are the years they earned their reputation as a sham of a news source. So this was the logical conclusion. Now that they've taken over the Tea and Republican party? Believe me, it doesn't make their views any more mainstream. It simply sets the vast majority of the country against them. The GOP is effectively dead until all the 'good old boys' die of old age and a new, hopefully more sensible generation of political activists take the reins.