tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/4chan-12153/articles4chan – The Conversation2024-03-13T19:15:21Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2252732024-03-13T19:15:21Z2024-03-13T19:15:21ZChristchurch attacks 5 years on: terrorist’s online history gives clues to preventing future atrocities<p>As our <a href="https://theconversation.com/christchurch-terrorist-discussed-attacks-online-a-year-before-carrying-them-out-new-research-reveals-223955">research has previously revealed</a>, the man who attacked two mosques in Christchurch in 2019, killing 51 people, posted publicly online for five years before his terrorist atrocity.</p>
<p>Here we provide further information about Brenton Tarrant’s posting. This article has two main goals. </p>
<p>First, by placing his online posting against his other online and offline activities, we gain a far more complete picture of the path to his attack. </p>
<p>Second, we want to show how his online community played a role in his radicalisation. This is important, as the same can happen to others immersed in that community.</p>
<p>In combining his online and offline activity here we do not seek to attribute blame to those who might have been expected to detect this behaviour. It is exceptionally difficult to identify terrorists online. </p>
<p>And yet, history is full of difficult problems that have been overcome. We use the benefit of hindsight to provide greater understanding of Tarrant’s pathway than has previously been available. </p>
<p>The aim is to prevent similar attacks by better understanding how such people act and how they might be detected.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/christchurch-terrorist-discussed-attacks-online-a-year-before-carrying-them-out-new-research-reveals-223955">Christchurch terrorist discussed attacks online a year before carrying them out, new research reveals</a>
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<h2>Words and deeds</h2>
<p>In the timeline below, we focus on Tarrant’s activity in 2018, following his first visit to Dunedin’s Bruce Rifle Club on December 14 2017, until his final overseas trip in October. It is for this period that we have the most comprehensive online posting history. </p>
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<img alt="A timeline of Brenton Tarrant's activities in 2018" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581223/original/file-20240312-16-xx9u35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581223/original/file-20240312-16-xx9u35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1200&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581223/original/file-20240312-16-xx9u35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1200&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581223/original/file-20240312-16-xx9u35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1200&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581223/original/file-20240312-16-xx9u35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1508&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581223/original/file-20240312-16-xx9u35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581223/original/file-20240312-16-xx9u35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1508&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>In 2024, we have both the benefit of hindsight and the accumulation of information relating to the attack. However, this triangulation of online and offline activities illustrates the ways those contemplating terrorist violence might act.</p>
<p>We can now see, for example, that Tarrant bought high-powered firearms on three occasions over a six-week period in March and April 2018. And he posted publicly twice on the online imageboard 4chan about his plans for racially motivated violence, and his veneration of a perpetrator of a similar attack. </p>
<p>Tarrant therefore not only “leaked” his plans for violence, he did so at the very moment he was buying weapons for it.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-road-to-march-15-networked-white-rage-and-the-christchurch-terror-attacks-201285">The road to March 15: 'networked white rage' and the Christchurch terror attacks</a>
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<p>Over 20 days in July and August, Tarrant presented to hospital with gunshot wounds, and began selling weapons online under the username Mannerheim (the name of a Finnish nationalist leader revered for defeating the communists in the country’s civil war).</p>
<p>He also posted publicly about his anger at the presence of mosques in South Island cities (claiming one had replaced a church). He wrote “soon” when another poster suggested setting fire to these places of worship. </p>
<p>A month later he attempted to sell weapons on online marketplace TradeMe, using a prominent white nationalist slogan – “<a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/david-lane">14 Words</a>” – in his username. (Strangely, this clear red flag was mentioned only once in the <a href="https://christchurchattack.royalcommission.nz/the-report/">royal commission report</a> on the attacks.) </p>
<p>TradeMe removed one of these advertisements for violating its terms of use. That caused Tarrant to move to another forum – NZ Hunting and Shooting Forums – to complain.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/can-ideology-detecting-algorithms-catch-online-extremism-before-it-takes-hold-200629">Can ideology-detecting algorithms catch online extremism before it takes hold?</a>
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<h2>Extremist community</h2>
<p>Our study has also revealed how important the 4chan community is to the radicalisation of individuals like Tarrant. In contrast to the fleeting human interaction he had with others as he travelled the world, 4chan was Tarrant’s community. </p>
<p>4chan’s /pol/ (politically incorrect) board became his home. Here he interacted with others over long periods, imagining he was speaking to the same people over months and years, and assuming many of them had become his friends. </p>
<p>We have found that, while creating a sense of belonging and community, /pol/ also works to create extremists in both direct and indirect ways. </p>
<p>Its anonymous nature (users are assigned a unique ID number for each thread, rather than a username) has two effects. One is well known, the other identified in our study. </p>
<p>First, anonymity encourages behaviour that would be absent if the poster’s identity was known. Second, anonymity is frustrating for those who wish to “be someone”, who crave respect and notoriety. </p>
<p>We have documented the way Tarrant (and others) strive to gain status in a discussion, only to have to start again when they move to a new thread and are given a new ID. This lack of ongoing recognition is agonising for some individuals, who go to lengths to obtain respect.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/violent-extremists-are-not-lone-wolves-dispelling-this-myth-could-help-reduce-violence-200434">Violent extremists are not lone wolves – dispelling this myth could help reduce violence</a>
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<h2>Anonymity and peer respect</h2>
<p>And just like a real-world fascist movement, /pol/ venerates violent action as necessary for the vitality and regeneration of the community. </p>
<p>When a terrorist attack, school shooting or other violent event occurs, users celebrate these events in so-called “happening” threads. These threads are longer, more emotional and excited than any other discussions. Participants often claim the individual at the centre of the event is “/ourguy/” (a reference to the /pol/ board).</p>
<p>The threads are also highly anticipatory: many users believe this event will finally push society into violent chaos and race war. </p>
<p>These dynamics are closely connected. For those who seek recognition and status on the bulletin board, such as Tarrant, the excited attention and adoration given to those who perpetrate high-profile violence is the clearest path to the peer respect that the anonymity of the board otherwise denies them. </p>
<p>As harrowing as this finding is, we contend that gaining respect from their online community is in itself a crucial motivation for some perpetrators of far-right terrorism. </p>
<p>The nature of this extreme but easily accessible corner of the internet means any hope Tarrant was a one-off – and that this won’t happen again – is misguided.</p>
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<p><em>The authors acknowledge the expert contribution of tactical and forensic linguist and independent researcher <a href="https://juliakupper.com/">Julia Kupper</a>. More information about our study will be released at <a href="https://www.heiaglobal.com/">heiaglobal.com</a>. Our research was approved by the University of Auckland Human Participant Ethics Committee. A paper based on this study has been submitted for peer review and publication.</em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Wilson is the director and co-founder of Hate & Extremism Insights Aotearoa (HEIA).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ethan Renner, Jack Smylie, and Michal Dziwulski do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research mapping the online and real-world activity of the Christchurch attacker provides insights into his radicalisation and the ways others contemplating terrorist violence might act.Chris Wilson, Co-founder and director of Hate & Extremism Insights Aotearoa (HEIA) and director, Master of Conflict and Terrorism Studies, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauEthan Renner, Researcher, Hate & Extremism Insights Aotearoa, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauJack Smylie, Research Analyst, Hate & Extremism Insights Aotearoa, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauMichal Dziwulski, Researcher, Hate & Extremism Insights Aotearoa, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2239552024-02-20T18:00:04Z2024-02-20T18:00:04ZChristchurch terrorist discussed attacks online a year before carrying them out, new research reveals<p>In March and August 2018, up to a year before he attacked two Christchurch mosques, Brenton Tarrant posted publicly online that he planned to do so. Until now, these statements have not been identified.</p>
<p>In fact, for four years before his attack, Tarrant had been posting anonymously but publicly on the online message board 4chan about the need to attack people of colour in locations of “significance”, including places of worship.</p>
<p>In its final report in 2020, the <a href="https://christchurchattack.royalcommission.nz/">royal commission of inquiry</a> into the terror attacks wrote: </p>
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<p>The individual claimed that he was not a frequent commenter on extreme right-wing sites and that YouTube was, for him, a far more significant source of information and inspiration.
Although he did frequent extreme right-wing discussion boards such as those on 4chan and 8chan, the evidence we have seen is indicative of more substantial use of YouTube and is therefore consistent with what he told us.</p>
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<p>Given the importance of online environments in radicalising lone actor terrorists, we questioned this and set out to investigate whether right-wing websites were important in Tarrant’s radicalisation.</p>
<p>What we found overturns a great deal of what we thought we knew about him. It also raises serious questions, not only about why this posting was not detected before the attack, but also why it has not been discovered in the five years since the March 15 attacks. </p>
<h2>Beyond the manifesto</h2>
<p>Having the opportunity to see Tarrant interact candidly with his online community, we see that much of what he stated in his manifesto was propaganda.</p>
<p>When he wrote in his manifesto that he was driven to violence by the lack of a political solution – a realisation that came to him in 2017 – we now know he had been calling for attacks against civilians at least as early as 2015.</p>
<p>Where he claimed he was not driven by antisemitism, we found hatred and conspiratorial distrust of Jews were central to his entire worldview.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-life-means-life-why-the-court-had-to-deliver-an-unprecedented-sentence-for-the-christchurch-terrorist-145091">When life means life: why the court had to deliver an unprecedented sentence for the Christchurch terrorist</a>
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<p>Although he claimed in his manifesto that he carried out his attack to preserve diversity and respect for all cultures, the violent racism and Islamophobia in his posting sets him apart, even in the darkest corners of 4chan.</p>
<p>We will be publishing more about Tarrant’s online history, including what radicalised him and what lessons can be learned. Here we introduce some of our initial findings. </p>
<p>Among other revelations, we show that there were numerous opportunities for the public and New Zealand and Australian security services to observe him making very threatening statements online. </p>
<p>We’ve chosen to repeat only a small number of Tarrant’s statements, given their highly offensive nature. However, we still advise caution before reading further.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/out-of-the-shadows-why-making-nzs-security-threat-assessment-public-for-the-first-time-is-the-right-move-211183">Out of the shadows: why making NZ’s security threat assessment public for the first time is the right move</a>
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<h2>How we found the posts</h2>
<p>Because 4chan posts are anonymous, we used a combination of indicators to identify Tarrant. 4chan’s “politically incorrect” board – referred to as /pol/ – provides the time, date and location of each post, allowing us to match this against Tarrant’s travel to numerous countries over five years.</p>
<p>Tarrant also frequently provided personal information in his posts, and he used the same distinctive language. In some cases, he repeated points we know he made elsewhere. He openly and proudly stated his Australian identity, even as he called for violence.</p>
<p>He also often made specific grammatical errors which make his posting stand out. He uses this style in online writing samples as early as 2011, in his 2019 manifesto, and in a great deal of online posting in between. In combination, these indicators identify Tarrant. </p>
<p>Our team of four researchers reviewed thousands of anonymous posts and hundreds of threads on /pol/. We used the platform’s search function for particular words, phrases and images. As a team we carefully evaluated all posts which included several of the above indicators.</p>
<p>We maintained a very high evidence threshold for including posts in our analysis. We excluded some important statements that were almost certainly written by him, but for which only one or two of the above indicators were present.</p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>By 2015, Tarrant was calling for mass violence against people of colour. Inspired by Dylann Roof’s <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/06/17/878828088/5-years-after-charleston-church-massacre-what-have-we-learned">massacre of nine Black worshippers</a> in a church in Charleston, South Carolina, Tarrant excitedly claimed “violence is the last resort of a cornered animal”, and “it was always going to come to this”.</p>
<p>It was here Tarrant made clear that white nationalist extremists should target innocent victims in locations of “significance”, such as places of worship.</p>
<p>When other posters claimed Roof should have targeted a “ghetto”, Tarrant became frustrated. He explained that attacking unarmed people in a church is a “very simple tactic” necessary to provoke people of colour into retaliating. He used a highly racist phrase common on the /pol/ board to refer to this strategy.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/using-ai-to-monitor-the-internet-for-terror-content-is-inescapable-but-also-fraught-with-pitfalls-222408">Using AI to monitor the internet for terror content is inescapable – but also fraught with pitfalls</a>
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<p>For at least four years, then, Tarrant contemplated and planned on killing people in a location of emotional importance such as a school or place of worship. </p>
<p>In fact, he glorified a wide range of violence, including school and public shootings, the perpetrators of which were driven by psychological or other motives rather than white nationalist ideology.</p>
<p>He advocated for and praised the sadistic and brutal killing of innocent civilians. The key for Tarrant was that this violence was perpetrated by white men. For him, any white violence might trigger the race war and segregation he desired.</p>
<p>As he travelled the world between 2014 and 2018, Tarrant became increasingly focused on Muslims. His hatred persisted after arriving in New Zealand. Sometimes it spiralled into unhinged tirades.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/can-ideology-detecting-algorithms-catch-online-extremism-before-it-takes-hold-200629">Can ideology-detecting algorithms catch online extremism before it takes hold?</a>
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<p>In one thread, he claimed he would form and fund an armed band of 4chan users to conduct ethnic cleansing in the Balkans. Some of his posting is unusually violent even within the extremism of /pol/. With hindsight at least, it suggests potential opportunities for detection, most obviously by Australian authorities. </p>
<p>For example, in that same thread, he identified himself as Australian four times, and brazenly wrote there was nothing the Australian government could do to stop him. </p>
<p>At the moment of this violent fantasy, he emailed a gun club in Dunedin stating his plans to move to New Zealand. In the same week, he made donations to international far-right leaders.</p>
<h2>Operational Security?</h2>
<p>The royal commission into the Christchurch terror attacks concluded Tarrant made only “limited lapses” in operational security during his time in New Zealand between late 2017 and March 2019.</p>
<p>This is not the case. He posted regularly on /pol/, which is freely and publicly accessible. His posting was visible to numerous others whose identities he could not possibly know.</p>
<p>Two threads in March and August of 2018 in particular show his hatred of and plans to attack the Muslim community. As such, they presented opportunities for his detection.</p>
<p>In these threads, Tarrant and other users posted angrily about the spread of immigrants in New Zealand, and particularly the presence of mosques in small towns. Very soon, a group of anonymous posters, including Tarrant, discussed violence against the buildings (and the communities that gather in them).</p>
<p>When another user posted an image of a box of matches in reference to the mosques, Tarrant wrote “Soon”.</p>
<p>Revealing he was in Dunedin, Tarrant expressed his anger at the presence of mosques in that city, and in Christchurch and Ashburton to the north, using highly abusive language. When other users called on him to act, he wrote: “I have a plan to stop it. Just hold on.”</p>
<p>Far from maintaining tight operational security as he planned his attack, Tarrant openly (albeit anonymously) discussed violence against mosques in the South Island while in New Zealand.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-royal-commission-report-on-the-christchurch-atrocity-is-a-beginning-not-an-end-151663">The royal commission report on the Christchurch atrocity is a beginning, not an end</a>
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<h2>Preventing it happening again</h2>
<p>The 4chan community was crucial in Tarrant’s radicalisation (and the examples given here are just a portion of what we have found). </p>
<p>Given what we know about the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19434472.2020.1862274">importance of online environments in the radicalisation</a> of other white nationalist terrorists, it is disturbing this aspect of Tarrant’s path to March 15 has not been investigated more thoroughly.</p>
<p>After all, his final words before the attack were released on the imageboard 8chan, but also intended for 4chan: “It’s been a long ride […] you are all top blokes and the best bunch of cobbers a man could ask for”.</p>
<p>It is hard to imagine a clearer signpost that the real nature of his radicalisation could be found on those forums.</p>
<p>Five years later, it seems we are only beginning to understand why he committed the atrocity, what might have been done to stop it, and how government agencies can work together with specialist extremism researchers to prevent it happening again.</p>
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<p><em>More information about our study will be released at <a href="https://www.heiaglobal.com/">heiaglobal.com</a>. Our research was approved by the University of Auckland Human Participant Ethics Committee. A paper based on this study has been submitted for peer review and publication.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223955/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Wilson is the co-founder and director of Hate & Extremism Insights Aotearoa (HEIA). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ethan Renner, Jack Smylie, and Michal Dziwulski do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Five years on from the attacks, a detailed investigation of the shooter’s online radicalisation shows he was openly posting about his plans. Why was it missed and what can we learn?Chris Wilson, Co-founder and director of Hate & Extremism Insights Aotearoa (HEIA) and director, Master of Conflict and Terrorism Studies, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauEthan Renner, Researcher, Hate & Extremism Insights Aotearoa, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauJack Smylie, Research Analyst, Hate & Extremism Insights Aotearoa, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauMichal Dziwulski, Researcher, Hate & Extremism Insights Aotearoa, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1935972022-11-03T12:13:49Z2022-11-03T12:13:49ZPolitical violence in America isn’t going away anytime soon<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493041/original/file-20221102-22-8qlz3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A member of the National Guard patrols the U.S. Capitol on March 4, 2021. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/member-of-the-national-guard-patrols-the-grounds-of-the-us-capitol-on-picture-id1231514110?s=612x612">Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/10/29/1132537240/government-warns-domestic-attacks-midterm-elections">warning</a> about the <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/10/29/23428956/political-attacks-increasing-far-right-congress-pelosi">threat of political violence </a> heading into the 2022 midterm elections was issued to state and local law enforcement officials by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Oct. 28, 2022. </p>
<p>The bulletin was released the same day that Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s husband was hospitalized after a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/02/politics/paul-pelosi-attack-latest-depape-court">home invasion</a> by a lone right-wing extremist seeking to harm her.</p>
<p>This incident is the latest in an increasing stream of extremist <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/29/pelosi-assault-attacks-threats-political-figures-00064113">confrontations</a> taking place across the United States in recent years. These incidents have primarily targeted Democrats, including a <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/12/17/947652491/6-suspects-indicted-for-conspiracy-to-kidnap-michigan-gov-gretchen-whitmer">plot</a> to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020. But threats from both sides of the political spectrum are up <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/01/us/politics/violent-threats-lawmakers.html">significantly</a>.</p>
<p>And, of course, there was the Jan. 6, 2021, <a href="https://january6th.house.gov/">insurrection</a> at the U.S. Capitol, where supporters of a defeated Republican president, acting on a <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/focus-big-lie-not-big-liar">widespread lie</a> he perpetuated, violently attempted to prevent the certification of electoral votes. According to well-documented public evidence, some rioters planned to find and execute both Speaker Pelosi and Vice President <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/16/us/politics/jan-6-gallows.html">Mike Pence</a>.</p>
<p>Such incidents reflect a disturbing trend that targets the very fabric, foundation and future of U.S. democracy. But what led to this point?</p>
<p>As a researcher taking a critical and apolitical eye toward security issues, I believe the rise in contemporary right-wing political extremism – and violence – began with an outdated focus in national communications policy.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493087/original/file-20221102-23-4s8fkw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A large brick home down the hill from a police tape stretched across the street." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493087/original/file-20221102-23-4s8fkw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493087/original/file-20221102-23-4s8fkw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493087/original/file-20221102-23-4s8fkw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493087/original/file-20221102-23-4s8fkw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493087/original/file-20221102-23-4s8fkw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493087/original/file-20221102-23-4s8fkw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493087/original/file-20221102-23-4s8fkw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Police take measurements around House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home after her husband, Paul Pelosi, was assaulted inside the home on Oct. 28, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/police-take-measurements-around-speaker-of-the-united-news-photo/1244292841?phrase=pelosi%20home&adppopup=true">Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Media-induced slow burn</h2>
<p>Until the late 1980s, the <a href="https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/955/fairness-doctrine">Federal Communications Commission’s Fairness Doctrine</a> required traditional licensed broadcasters to offer competing viewpoints on controversial public issues. But these rules <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/11/28/fact-check-fairness-doctrine-applied-broadcast-licenses-not-cable/6439197002/">did not apply</a> to cable or satellite providers. As a result, the rise of cable news channels in the 1990s led to highly partisan programming that <a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-be-too-quick-to-blame-social-media-for-americas-polarization-cable-news-has-a-bigger-effect-study-finds-187579">helped divide</a> American society in the ensuing decades. </p>
<p>This programming fueled increasing polarization in the public and political arenas. Bipartisanship was abandoned in the 1990s, when the Republican Congress under Speaker Newt Gingrich <a href="https://history.princeton.edu/about/publications/burning-down-house-newt-gingrich-fall-speaker-and-rise-new-republican-party">embraced</a> a “scorched-earth” policy of governing. That meant treating the minority party not as the loyal opposition and respected elected colleagues who had differences over policy, but as enemies.</p>
<p>In addition to emerging <a href="https://harvardpolitics.com/organized-polarize-cnn-fox-news-msnbc-roots-partisan-cable-television/">partisan cable television networks like MSNBC and Fox News</a>, in the early 2000s, an increasingly polarized Congress and the public received a new source of division: social media.</p>
<p>Internet platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and 4Chan allowed anyone, anywhere, to create, produce and distribute political commentary and extremist rhetoric that could be amplified by other users and drive the day’s news cycle. </p>
<p>Political pundits and influencers across the spectrum became less concerned about correctly informing the public. Instead, <a href="https://nicd.arizona.edu/blog/2021/06/14/how-the-outrage-industrial-complex-profits-from-stoking-americans-anger-at-each-other/">they stoked outrage</a> in the search for money-generating clicks and advertising dollars. And political parties exploited this outrage to satisfy and energize their voting base or funders. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A white woman and man pull back a black curtain to show a voting machine with a big screen." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493044/original/file-20221102-24-qix10y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493044/original/file-20221102-24-qix10y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493044/original/file-20221102-24-qix10y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493044/original/file-20221102-24-qix10y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493044/original/file-20221102-24-qix10y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493044/original/file-20221102-24-qix10y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493044/original/file-20221102-24-qix10y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Philadelphia city commissioners display a voting machine in Philadelphia City Hall on Oct. 24, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/philadelphia-city-commissioner-lisa-deeley-and-deputy-comissioner-picture-id1244203987?s=612x612">Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Moderation or censorship?</h2>
<p>To combat online extremism, social media companies reluctantly began <a href="https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/social-media-firms-moderate-content/">moderating user posts</a> and sometimes <a href="https://reason.org/commentary/social-media-companies-have-the-right-to-ban-users/">banned</a> prominent users who violated their community standards or terms of service. </p>
<p>In response to what it dubbed “<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/01/social-media-sweeps-the-states-00043229">censorship</a>” from Big Tech, the right wing <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2022/10/06/the-role-of-alternative-social-media-in-the-news-and-information-environment/">splintered</a> into numerous niche platforms catering to their conspiracy theories and extremist or violent views such as Truth Social – run by former President Trump – Gab, Parler, Rumble and others. </p>
<p>Compared with Democrats, Republicans have mastered this form of gutter politics. One example: Right-wing political figures have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/31/donald-trump-jr-misinformation-memes-paul-pelosi-hammer">mocked</a> Paul Pelosi for being attacked, spread <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/31/conservatives-disinformation-paul-pelosi-assault-00064208">baseless conspiracy theories</a> about his personal life and used the incident for applause lines at <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3713080-arizona-governor-candidate-kari-lake-jokes-about-paul-pelosi-attack/">campaign rallies</a>. </p>
<p>Accordingly, today’s voters and politicians end up confronting one another in the public sphere not on matters and substance affecting the future of the country, but on fundamental facts and conspiracy theories, or to address distractions often generated by their respective media ecosystems. This is only exacerbated by a prolonged nationwide decline in <a href="https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/education/598795-media-literacy-is-desperately-needed-in-classrooms/">media literacy</a> and <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/legislators-staff/legislators/legislators-back-to-school/tackling-the-american-civics-education-crisis.aspx">civics education</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493083/original/file-20221102-26-22xyb5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A crowd of people, some wearing protective helmets, push up against a group of protesters. One of them holds an American flag in the air." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493083/original/file-20221102-26-22xyb5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493083/original/file-20221102-26-22xyb5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493083/original/file-20221102-26-22xyb5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493083/original/file-20221102-26-22xyb5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493083/original/file-20221102-26-22xyb5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493083/original/file-20221102-26-22xyb5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493083/original/file-20221102-26-22xyb5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rioters outside the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021, clash with police.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/supporters-of-us-president-donald-trump-fight-with-riot-police-the-picture-id1230457933?s=612x612">Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Law enforcement’s unique problem</h2>
<p>Against this backdrop, federal law enforcement has become more vocal in warning about the dangers of domestic political extremism, including a <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/ntas/advisory/national-terrorism-advisory-system-bulletin-february-07-2022">bulletin</a> issued in February 2022. The Oct. 28 DHS bulletin further underscores this concern. </p>
<p>But it’s hard for law enforcement to effectively address political extremism, because speech protected under the <a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/">First Amendment</a> is a major consideration. Phrases like “I’m fighting for you!” or “Saving our country!” might seem like typical political bluster to one person. But they could be seen by others as an implied call for intimidation or violent action against political opponents, election officials, volunteer poll workers and even ordinary voters. </p>
<p>How does speech turn into violent action? Security specialists and scholars use the term “<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/jargon-watch-rising-danger-stochastic-terrorism/">stochastic terrorism</a>” to capture how a single, hard-to-locate person might be inspired or influenced toward violence by broader extremist rhetoric, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-donald-trump-san-francisco-47c103cfe696df9faf0e57e1c7dd4f10">as appears to have been the case</a> with the man who allegedly tried to kill Paul Pelosi with a hammer. </p>
<p>Law enforcement’s problem is made worse by right-wing lawmakers who normalize or actively praise the actions of violent extremists, calling them “<a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-and-allies-work-to-rebrand-jan-6-rioters-as-patriots-heroes-and-martyrs-01626809391">patriots</a>” and demanding their prison sentences be overturned or <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/30/trump-pardon-jan6-defendants-00003450">pardoned</a>. This helps obscure the actual reasons for such incidents, often by deflecting them into broader conspiracy theories involving their opponents.</p>
<p>Certainly there are controversial left-leaning politicians, pundits, activists and talking points too. </p>
<p>But few – if any – openly disregard the fabric of American government, scheme to overturn democratic elections by force or plot to assassinate politicians. </p>
<p>By contrast, there are over <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2022/10/07/democracy-on-the-ballot-how-many-election-deniers-are-on-the-ballot-in-november-and-what-is-their-likelihood-of-success/">300 Republican election deniers</a> running for office this year, including many incumbents – the vast majority of whom endorse political violence such as the Jan. 6 attack either by their actions or their silence. </p>
<h2>Hope for the best; prepare for the worst</h2>
<p>Tensions are high heading into the 2022 midterms. Politicians are making final arguments, and the online messaging machines are spreading campaign information, fundraising requests – and plenty of disinformation as well.</p>
<p>Americans expect a <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/why-presidential-transition-process-matters">peaceful transfer of political power</a> after elections, but recent history shows we must prepare for the worst. It’s clear that the modern Republican Party is openly and successfully embracing and exploiting misinformation, outrage and attacks on democracy and the rule of law. </p>
<p>Until Republicans actively disavow their extremist rhetoric and the misinformation contributing to it, I believe the likelihood for political violence in America increases with each passing day.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193597/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Forno has received research funding related to cybersecurity from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Defense (DOD) during his academic career, and sits on the advisory board of BlindHash, a cybersecurity startup focusing on remedying the password problem. He is a registered independent voter, too.</span></em></p>The rise in contemporary right-wing political extremism – and violence – can be traced back to events in the 1990s.Richard Forno, Principal Lecturer in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1831992022-05-19T12:17:47Z2022-05-19T12:17:47ZA quest for significance gone horribly wrong – how mass shooters pervert a universal desire to make a difference in the world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464078/original/file-20220518-14-bc5qpi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C17%2C5973%2C3961&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A memorial to the victims of the mass shooting at a Buffalo, N.Y., supermarket.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/shannon-waedell-collins-pays-her-respects-after-placing-news-photo/1240744838?adppopup=true">Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Agonizing questions are being raised by the recent tragic mass shootings <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/05/25/us/shooting-robb-elementary-uvalde">at a school in Texas</a> <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/buffalo-ny-supermarket-shooting-latest-news">and a supermarket in Buffalo, New York</a>. As in the recent years’ similar acts of horror at a synagogue in <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting-portraits-11-victims/story?id=58823835">Pittsburgh</a>, a Walmart in <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/03/el-paso-walmart-mass-shooting-legislature/">El Paso</a>, and a mosque in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/christchurch-shooting">Christchurch, New Zealand</a>, people want to know how such senseless acts of violence can even happen, why they happen so often, and whether anything can be done to stem their dreadful tide.</p>
<p>An easy answer has been to shunt the discourse over to mental illness as the cause and in this way marginalize the problem and identify a ready, if superficial, solution to it: improving mental health. It also absolves the rest of society of responsibility to address a pernicious trend of mass shootings that between 2009 and 2020 <a href="https://everytownresearch.org/maps/mass-shootings-in-america/">claimed 1,363 lives in the U.S. alone</a>, more than anywhere else in the world. </p>
<p>The idea that committing atrocities and killing innocent victims reflects mental illness has been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10683169808401747">long discarded by terrorism researchers</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.gr/citations?user=Trd2BdsAAAAJ&hl=en">like me</a>. The over 40,000 foreign fighters who joined the Islamic State organization to kill and die <a href="https://icsr.info/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ICSR-Report-From-Daesh-to-%E2%80%98Diaspora%E2%80%99-Tracing-the-Women-and-Minors-of-Islamic-State.pdf">weren’t all mentally disturbed</a>, nor were the mass shooters who in the first 19 weeks of 2022 managed to carry out nearly <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/05/15/1099008586/mass-shootings-us-2022-tally-number">200 attacks on U.S. soil</a>. </p>
<p>There is a mental and psychological dimension to the problem, to be sure, but it is not illness or pathology. It is the universal human quest for significance and respect – the mother, I believe, of all social motives. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464081/original/file-20220518-25-bqudko.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A young man with medium length brown hair." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464081/original/file-20220518-25-bqudko.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464081/original/file-20220518-25-bqudko.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464081/original/file-20220518-25-bqudko.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464081/original/file-20220518-25-bqudko.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464081/original/file-20220518-25-bqudko.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464081/original/file-20220518-25-bqudko.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464081/original/file-20220518-25-bqudko.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Payton Gendron, the accused Buffalo shooter.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/BuffaloSupermarketShootingRadicalization/bad2e3eda1954506960553b2e76351c5/photo?Query=Gendron&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=41&currentItemNo=4">Erie County District Attorney's Office via AP</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I <a href="https://psyc.umd.edu/facultyprofile/kruglanski/arie">am a psychologist</a> who studies this ubiquitous motivation and its far-reaching consequences. My research reveals that this quest is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916211034825">a major force in human affairs</a>. It shapes the course of world history and determines the destiny of nations. </p>
<p>It also plays a major role in the tragic incidents of mass shootings, including, it seems, the Buffalo killings. </p>
<h2>Triggering the quest</h2>
<p>This quest for significance and respect must first be awakened before it can drive behavior.</p>
<p>It can be triggered by the experience of significant loss through humiliation and failure. When we suffer such a loss, we desperately seek to regain significance and respect. The quest for significance can also be triggered by an opportunity for substantial gain – becoming a hero, a martyr, a superstar.</p>
<p>Both circumstances appear acutely in adolescence, during the momentous life transition between childhood and adulthood, marked by soaring hormones, turbulent emotions and gnawing uncertainty about one’s self-worth. Gendron is 18; most school shootings were carried out by <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/971544/number-k-12-school-shootings-us-age-shooter/">young people between 11 and 17 years old</a>, although the <a href="https://rockinst.org/gun-violence/mass-shooting-factsheet/">average age of mass shooters is 33.2</a>.</p>
<p>Yet, neither age nor the quest for significance alone can explain the occurrence of mass shootings. After all, the vast majority of adolescents go through their teen years without resorting to murderous violence. What is it, then, that tips the scales for those who don’t? </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464084/original/file-20220518-24-w4cas7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A white haired man in a black jacket and black face mask in a crowd of people." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464084/original/file-20220518-24-w4cas7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464084/original/file-20220518-24-w4cas7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464084/original/file-20220518-24-w4cas7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464084/original/file-20220518-24-w4cas7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464084/original/file-20220518-24-w4cas7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464084/original/file-20220518-24-w4cas7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464084/original/file-20220518-24-w4cas7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">President Joe Biden greets family members of victims of the Tops market shooting on May 17, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-joe-biden-greets-family-members-of-victims-of-the-news-photo/1397764216?adppopup=true">Scott Olson/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>‘Shortcuts to fame and glory’</h2>
<p>The research my colleagues and I have done suggests that a crucial factor in turning a person into a mass murderer is the significance-promising narrative – essentially, a story – that individuals come to embrace. This story acquires its powers of persuasion through the support of the individuals’ social network, the group <a href="https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780190851125.001.0001/oso-9780190851125">from which one seeks approval</a>. </p>
<p>The mainstream narrative that most of us follow promises significance and social worth as rewards for hard work, notable achievements and social service. </p>
<p>Yet there exist alternative narratives that offer tempting shortcuts to fame and glory. These identify an alleged villain, scheme or conspiracy that threaten one’s group – race, nation, or religion. The mortal danger being invoked calls for brave heroes willing to sacrifice all on the altar of the cause. </p>
<p>A striking example of such a narrative is the so-called <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/buffalo-mass-shooting-latest-linked-to-great-replacement-theory-2022-5">“white replacement theory” that Gendron allegedly embraced</a>. It is the idea that progressive leftists are planning to flood the country with people of color, aiming to disempower the white population and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/05/16/1099034094/what-is-the-great-replacement-theory">destroy its values and way of life</a>. </p>
<p>The sense of existential danger this theory invokes fuels blind hatred against the alleged usurpers, and presumed conspirators, a loathing that overrides all restraints. It <a href="https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/The-Great-Replacement-The-Violent-Consequences-of-Mainstreamed-Extremism-by-ISD.pdf">unleashes the rawest, most primordial impulses</a> of which the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4406946/">human reptilian brain is capable</a>. Murderous rage and mayhem are often the result.</p>
<p>In 21st-century America, such toxic narratives not only proliferate but increasingly gain <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/16/gop-replacement-theory-timeline/">legitimacy and currency within public discourse</a>. Some politicians are quick to recognize the seductive appeal of these ideas, particularly in times of widespread, significance-threatening uncertainty engendered by creeping <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Bowling-with-Trump_Fabian-et-al.pdf">economic inequalities</a>, the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/17/coronavirus-psychology-of-uncertainty-not-knowing-whats-next.html">pandemic</a>, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/02/16/publics-top-priority-for-2022-strengthening-the-nations-economy/">inflation</a> and other destabilizing problems. </p>
<p>The wide availability of <a href="https://www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology/extremism-digital-age">social media platforms exacerbates the problem</a> by orders of magnitude. In the not-so-distant past, those with heinous views would need to look hard for similarly minded others. But these days, no matter how deviant or morally abhorrent their beliefs, people have no trouble finding soulmates on <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26984798">4chan, 8chan</a> or <a href="https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/binaries/content/assets/customsites/perspectives-on-terrorism/2021/issue-2/walther-and-mccoy-.pdf">Telegram</a>. </p>
<h2>First, understand the psychology</h2>
<p>This technologically based predicament, and the primitive appeal of violence as a path to significance, make the problem of violence in our public spaces particularly difficult and unlikely to respond to quick solutions. </p>
<p>I have studied this appeal to violence for decades, and I believe that to conquer it requires first understanding the psychology that drives it all. It requires parents to appreciate <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12376">the dread of insignificance their children may be experiencing</a>, their quest of proving themselves worthy and how the combination of human <a href="https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/04/conversation-kruglanski">needs, narratives and networks can produce murder</a>. </p>
<p>It also requires educational and community institutions to provide youngsters idealistic alternatives to violence, to quench their thirst for mattering. </p>
<p>It requires attention to social justice and economic inequalities that leave millions feeling disrespected and left behind. And it requires resolutely confronting hateful narratives, and our demonization of one another. </p>
<p>No doubt, these challenges are a tall order and call for a whole society’s effort, all hands on deck. But if we fail to measure up to the task, murder will not stop. Recent horrific shootings are but grim reminders of the evil that can happen. Ignoring it is at our own peril.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an article published on May 19, 2022, portions of which had originally appeared in an article <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-quest-for-significance-and-respect-underlies-the-white-supremacist-movement-conspiracy-theories-and-a-range-of-other-problems-156027">published on March 11, 2021</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183199/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Arie Kruglanski does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There is a mental and psychological dimension to what leads people to commit mass killings. But it is not mental illness or pathology.Arie Kruglanski, Professor of Psychology, University of MarylandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1568502021-03-14T22:04:03Z2021-03-14T22:04:03ZTwo years on from the Christchurch terror attack, how much has really changed?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389150/original/file-20210311-20-6qcnz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6709%2C4466&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">GettyImages</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>March 15 2019 is a day we must never forget, a defining point in the history of New Zealand. The premeditated attack on the Christchurch Muslim community took the lives of 51 of our fellow citizens and damaged many more. It was also a direct assault on our cherished ideals of multiculturalism.</p>
<p>The question, therefore, is what has changed two years on? There are three responses to that question — not all of them positive or reassuring.</p>
<p>The better news is that the reaction to the attack itself has been impressive. From the prime minister’s <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47630129">empathetic engagement</a>, to the court system ensuring the terrorist was handed an <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-life-means-life-why-the-court-had-to-deliver-an-unprecedented-sentence-for-the-christchurch-terrorist-145091">unprecedented life sentence</a> without parole, New Zealand did well.</p>
<p>The royal commission <a href="https://christchurchattack.royalcommission.nz/the-report/">into the attack</a> was also excellent. It was supplemented by an extensive <a href="https://dpmc.govt.nz/our-programmes/national-security/royal-commission-inquiry-terrorist-attack-christchurch-masjidain-0">consultation and outreach</a> process, leading to better <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/03/govt-vows-to-provide-more-trauma-support-for-victims-of-christchurch-mosque-shootings.html">trauma support</a> for the victims.</p>
<p>Changes to firearms laws have now largely <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2019/0012/latest/whole.html#LMS181205">prohibited</a> ownership of the types of semi-automatic weapons used in the attacks. Would-be gun owners who show “patterns of behaviour demonstrating a tendency to exhibit, encourage, or promote violence, hatred or extremism” are <a href="http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/consol_act/ala2020180/">no longer considered</a> fit and proper.</p>
<p>The government’s “<a href="https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/peace-rights-and-security/international-security/christchurch-call/">Christchurch Call</a>” aimed to co-ordinate the fight against violent online extremism internationally. At home, the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (<a href="https://www.nzsis.govt.nz/">NZSIS</a>) and police have collaborated on a <a href="https://www.nzsis.govt.nz/news/protecting-our-crowded-places/">new strategy</a> to “increase the safety, protection and resilience of crowded places”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="documents with title showing" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389147/original/file-20210311-19-1pj4k0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389147/original/file-20210311-19-1pj4k0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389147/original/file-20210311-19-1pj4k0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389147/original/file-20210311-19-1pj4k0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389147/original/file-20210311-19-1pj4k0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389147/original/file-20210311-19-1pj4k0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389147/original/file-20210311-19-1pj4k0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The royal commission of inquiry into the terror attack heard harrowing testimony from survivors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">GettyImages</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The threat has increased</h2>
<p>So far, so positive. But, despite these various initiatives, the terrorism threat level in New Zealand has not decreased, but has moved from “low” to “<a href="https://www.nzsis.govt.nz/our-work/counter-terrorism/national-terrorism-threat-level/">medium</a>” since March 15 2019. That means a terrorist attack is seen as “feasible and could well occur”.</p>
<p>How feasible, and how close we have already come to other attacks, is difficult to gauge. While the failures of security agencies are public, their successes are not. The secrecy around what they do runs deep.</p>
<p>But recent publicly reported incidents suggest a higher-than-desirable level of risk, including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>a white nationalist serving in the military <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300167448/linton-soldier-is-the-first-new-zealander-to-be-charged-with-espionage">charged with espionage</a></p></li>
<li><p>a well-armed teenager who posted <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/terrorist-attack-how-police-thwarted-heavily-armed-teens-plan-to-shoot-teachers-classmates-in-south-island-school/UIBDQEDPD5OCWPJLYN34DSI53U/">inflammatory and extreme views</a> and appears to have planned to attack his school</p></li>
<li><p>an arrest in Christchurch following a <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/437666/man-charged-with-threatening-to-kill-after-arrest-over-threat-to-christchurch-mosques">threat to attack</a> the same mosques targeted in 2019.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>This suggests security agencies need to be exceptionally vigilant — more so than they have appeared to be recently.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/christchurchs-legacy-of-fighting-violent-extremism-online-must-go-further-deep-into-the-dark-web-133159">Christchurch's legacy of fighting violent extremism online must go further – deep into the dark web</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Confronted with the fact that a member of the public, not the police or security agencies, spotted the latest threat on the 4chan website, the NZSIS <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/124448689/security-intelligence-service-defend-terror-threat-miss">claimed it cannot monitor</a> “millions of pages of posts made online every day”.</p>
<p>That is not acceptable. The public knows New Zealand is part of the powerful <a href="https://www.gcsb.govt.nz/about-us/ukusa-allies/">Five Eyes</a> global intelligence network. Expecting a few obvious keyword searches within known extremist online hotspots is hardly unreasonable.</p>
<p>While the police and NZSIS may have largely escaped blame for the original March 15 attack, their defence of difficulty in identifying an attacker in advance cannot be used twice.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern unveiling a commemorative plaque with people looking on" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389148/original/file-20210311-21-njiuat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389148/original/file-20210311-21-njiuat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389148/original/file-20210311-21-njiuat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389148/original/file-20210311-21-njiuat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389148/original/file-20210311-21-njiuat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389148/original/file-20210311-21-njiuat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389148/original/file-20210311-21-njiuat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern unveiling a commemorative plaque at Al Noor Mosque in 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">GettyImages</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Racism and intolerance hard to measure</h2>
<p>Finally, and despite initiatives such as the <a href="https://www.hrc.co.nz/our-work/race-relations-and-diversity/give-nothing-racism/">Give Nothing to Racism</a> campaign (launched two years before the Christchurch attack), it is debatable whether racism and intolerance in general have declined at all.</p>
<p>The Christchurch royal commission found “most affected whānau, survivors and witnesses” <a href="https://christchurchattack.royalcommission.nz/publications/what-we-heard-from-the-whanau-of-the-51-shuhada-survivors-and-witnesses-of-the-christchurch-terrorist-attack/life-in-new-zealand-as-a-muslim/">generally viewed</a> New Zealand and New Zealanders positively before the attacks. At the same time, “nearly everyone we met with had personally suffered racist incidents or discrimination”.</p>
<p>Evidence does suggest we have a real problem. <a href="https://www.hrc.co.nz/files/1515/6047/9685/It_Happened_Here_Reports_of_race_and_religious_hate_crime_in_New_Zealand_2004-2012.pdf">From 2004 to 2012</a> alone, there were about 100 race-related incidents, ranging from murder and kidnapping to serious assault, threatening and disorderly behaviour, abuse, deliberate damage to property and desecration of sacred sites.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-rehab-and-little-chance-of-appeal-for-the-christchurch-terrorist-jailed-for-life-without-parole-145242">No rehab and little chance of appeal for the Christchurch terrorist jailed for life without parole</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But trying to gauge the real levels of racism and intolerance is difficult. Even the police are unsure of how bad it is: almost half of probable hate crimes are <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/431996/hate-crimes-almost-half-complaints-to-police-wrongly-downgraded">wrongfully downgraded</a> because “the majority of staff do not know how to code them”.</p>
<p>Although racially motivated hostility can be an <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2002/0009/latest/DLM135545.html?search=sw_096be8ed81a88b19_race_25_se&p=1&sr=0">aggravating factor</a> in sentencing, there is no specific crime of race hatred. Those incidents are commonly mixed in with general <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1981/0113/latest/whole.html#DLM4038123">public order offences</a>, and the government has <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/432361/no-legislative-changes-planned-for-hate-crime-in-new-zealand">no plans</a> to amend this.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/far-right-extremists-still-threaten-new-zealand-a-year-on-from-the-christchurch-attacks-133050">Far-right extremists still threaten New Zealand, a year on from the Christchurch attacks</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Not enough has changed</h2>
<p>The Human Rights Commission <a href="https://www.hrc.co.nz/files/8116/0850/9706/HRC_Annual_Report_19-20_FINAL.pdf">reports</a> race-related prejudice remains the commonest complaint. While the trend has improved, the numbers remain high: 426 complaints in 2017-18, 369 in 2018-19 and 383 in 2019-20.</p>
<p>Even these small advances may have been washed away by the <a href="https://www.hrc.co.nz/files/2916/1344/5450/COVID_Discrimination_Report_FINAL_16_Feb_2021.pdf">anti-Chinese and Asian racism</a> reported during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<p>As for levels of general intolerance, it speaks volumes that the Broadcasting Standards Authority was forced to announce it would <a href="https://www.bsa.govt.nz/news/bsa-news/bsa-draws-a-line-under-complaints-about-te-reo/">no longer hear complaints</a> about everyday use of te reo Māori.</p>
<p>Two years on from the Christchurch terror attack, then, has New Zealand changed? Yes and no. The government dealt with the actual atrocity well. But the risk of further attacks remains — perhaps greater than before. And racism and intolerance remain stubbornly persistent. </p>
<p>If we really want to ensure the horrors of March 15 2019 do not ever recur, we must do better in spotting extremists in advance, and draining out the racist and intolerant ecosystems they emerge from.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156850/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Gillespie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As New Zealand marks the second anniversary of the March 15 atrocity, the general terror threat has increased and doubts persist about police and security agency preparedness.Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of WaikatoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1530182021-01-18T12:13:34Z2021-01-18T12:13:34ZHow anti-vax memes replicate through satire and irony<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379035/original/file-20210115-15-w0scqn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=376%2C0%2C1008%2C716&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/017/294/1319080167671910033.png">Don/KnowYourMeme</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For most of us, memes are the harmless fodder of an “<a href="https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/what-does-it-mean-to-be-extremely-online/">extremely online</a>” internet culture, floating benignly between different social media platforms — and, on the whole, making us laugh. But in the shadier corners of the internet, like on the forum 4chan, memes can quickly mutate from jokes into more ambiguous, shocking and potentially harmful viral content.</p>
<p>That’s especially true of memes that call into question the efficacy and safety of vaccines — often termed “anti-vax” content. Anti-vaccination sentiment is <a href="https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/history-anti-vaccination-movements">not a new phenomenon</a>, but is increasingly fuelled by <a href="https://theconversation.com/misinformation-on-social-media-fuels-vaccine-hesitancy-a-global-study-shows-the-link-150652">online misinformation</a>. Unfounded claims proliferate online, <a href="https://www.publichealth.org/public-awareness/understanding-vaccines/vaccine-myths-debunked/">linking vaccines to disease development</a>, or presenting COVID-19 as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-hoax/fact-check-the-coronavirus-pandemic-is-not-a-hoax-or-a-conspiracy-to-control-the-general-public-idUSKBN25G2KM">a hoax</a>. </p>
<p>When they go viral, such conspiracy theories present a major obstacle to the success of any immunisation campaign, as they may contribute to vaccine hesitancy. <a href="https://www.psych.ox.ac.uk/news/almost-a-third-of-uk-population-are-very-unsure-or-strongly-hesitant-about-covid-19-vaccination">In the UK</a>, more than a quarter of the population signals reluctance or suspicion about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-1124-9">Globally</a>, willingness to be vaccinated varies widely. </p>
<p>To combat the spread of anti-vaccination rumours, platforms are currently using a dual strategy of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/oct/13/facebook-vaccine-ads-ban">censorship</a> and fact checking. Both practices have their pitfalls. Censorship may actually <a href="https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/2498">stimulate curiosity</a>, while people who distrust mainstream media are not likely to trust <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/fullHtml/10.1145/3122803">fact checkers</a>. </p>
<p>And much online content — like viral memes — is not primarily meant to inform, and is therefore hard to evaluate in terms of whether it’s information, misinformation, or simply a joke. </p>
<h2>Imageboard dissidence</h2>
<p>Internet memes are a defining feature of online communication. The term can refer to any widely shared and replicated piece of online content in a variety of styles and formats. While mostly humorous or relatable, some memes have come to be associated with <a href="https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/pepe-the-frog">hateful beliefs</a> through their occurrence on influential websites such as the imageboard 4chan. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-and-conspiracies-how-the-far-right-is-exploiting-the-pandemic-145968">Coronavirus and conspiracies: how the far right is exploiting the pandemic</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>4chan boasts over <a href="https://www.4chan.org/advertise">20 million unique visitors</a> a month, and is <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1805.12512">highly influential</a> in meme culture. On 4chan’s “Politically Incorrect” board (/pol/), people anonymously discuss world news and political events from perspectives that run counter to the public consensus. Views expressed on /pol/ can be shocking and unpleasant. </p>
<p>Conspiracy theories such as <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/53498434">QAnon</a> flourished on /pol/, and the forum has been linked to the recent <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22221285/trump-online-capitol-riot-far-right-parler-twitter-facebook">Capitol riots</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The title page of the website 4chan" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379018/original/file-20210115-21-zg70vt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379018/original/file-20210115-21-zg70vt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379018/original/file-20210115-21-zg70vt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379018/original/file-20210115-21-zg70vt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379018/original/file-20210115-21-zg70vt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379018/original/file-20210115-21-zg70vt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379018/original/file-20210115-21-zg70vt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">4chan is an imageboard from which many famous memes have originated.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/los-angeles-california-usa-21-jule-1460611616">II.studio/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Presumed malicious intent behind vaccination programmes is a commonly voiced concern on the board. In <a href="https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/2852">a recent study</a>, I showed that anti-vaccination posts encountered on /pol/ (and found across social media) display a number of recurring elements, such as revulsion to vaccine ingredients and selective appeals to authority. With vaccine hesitancy becoming an increasingly pressing concern, the role of such memetic patterns in the spread of misinformation deserves careful attention. </p>
<h2>Renegade quotes</h2>
<p>Anti-vaccination posts regularly contain a visual component. For instance, a reference to authority can be expressed through a vaccine-critical quote next to the face of the person who supposedly uttered it. Surprisingly often, quotes included in anti-vaccination discussions are attributed incorrectly.</p>
<p>Online, incorrect attribution does not just happen by accident. Fake quotes are a very popular <a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/fake-quotations">meme format</a>, often intended to satirise and amuse. Today’s internet users are likely to encounter the face of historic figures such as Lincoln, Einstein or Gandhi, paired with an absurdly out-of-place statement. </p>
<p>Such memes creatively critique the popular practice of sharing inspirational messages. They also ridicule received sources of wisdom and authority. But as a result, it is often unclear whether anti-vaccination statements voiced through the face-and-quote format are shared and received in earnest, or through an ironic lens.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Bill Gates in front of UN logo holding a vaccine." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378963/original/file-20210115-24-v8gawt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378963/original/file-20210115-24-v8gawt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378963/original/file-20210115-24-v8gawt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378963/original/file-20210115-24-v8gawt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378963/original/file-20210115-24-v8gawt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378963/original/file-20210115-24-v8gawt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378963/original/file-20210115-24-v8gawt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This image of Bill Gates with a vaccine has been repurposed hundreds of times online.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/unisgeneva/5730267372/">Jean-Marc Ferré/UN Photo</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Accustomed to online irony, a proportion of internet users on 4chan and beyond may not intend their multi-layered jokes to contribute to vaccine hesitancy. The influence of ironic meme culture may also mitigate the impact of misinformation by priming the browsing crowd for absurdity rather than accuracy. However, diverse audiences make for diverse reactions. While quotes supposedly exposing the evil intentions of figures such as Bill Gates – <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/53191523">a common target of conspiratorial beliefs</a> – can easily be read in jest, they can also influence internet users to distrust vaccines.</p>
<h2>Vaccine revolt</h2>
<p>A second common feature of anti-vaccination discourse is revulsion to vaccine ingredients. This sentiment tends to be communicated by means of lists combining chemical and bestial elements. When taken out of context, a compilation of <a href="https://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/vk/vaccine-ingredients">vaccine components</a> — mentioning mercury, formaldehyde, and cow’s blood — can indeed inspire fear and disgust. When presented to shock, the ingredients of any complex product may come to look like an alchemist’s concoction or a sinister witch’s brew.</p>
<p>Feelings of aversion may be exacerbated by the image of a syringe, which in anti-vax posts is often presented together with ingredients deemed harmful. Most children fear needles, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jan.13818">and a large proportion of adults do, too</a>. In many contexts, sharp objects are associated with harm, not health. </p>
<p>It is surprising, then, that ironic replications of the syringe-plus-ingredients template circulate online, mocking the anti-vaxxer’s fears and supposed scientific illiteracy. Such memetic efforts may aim to comically combat misinformation, but nonetheless spread visual prompts that reinforce suspicion. From this perspective, you may even wonder whether popular newspapers contribute to vaccine hesitancy by repeatedly using pictures of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/dec/29/covid-vaccine-uptake-high-despite-concerns-over-hesitancy">a needle breaching the skin</a>.</p>
<p>Attitudes to vaccination are communicated not just through what is written, but also through particular representational patterns. Meme formats and visual outlines can spread misinformation, even when created and shared with humorous intent. </p>
<p>After all, “<a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Poe%27s%20Law">Poe’s Law</a>” dictates that there’s a wafer-thin line between satirical and fanatical content. In the context of COVID-19, that line is all too easily crossed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153018/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jan Buts does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Memes that promote harmful conspiracies and memes that mock them are sometimes hard to distinguish.Jan Buts, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Translation Studies, Trinity College DublinLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1470182020-09-30T04:37:28Z2020-09-30T04:37:28ZAirports, ATMs, hospitals: Microsoft Windows XP leak would be less of an issue, if so many didn’t use it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360679/original/file-20200930-24-cu2eex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5590%2C3640&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The source code of the Windows XP operating system is now circulating online as a huge <a href="https://www.pcgamesn.com/microsoft/windows-xp-source-code-leak">43GB mega-dump</a>. </p>
<p>Although the software is nearly two decades old, it’s still used by people, businesses and organisations around the world. This source code leak leaves it open to being scoured for bugs and weaknesses hackers can exploit.</p>
<p>The leaked torrent files, published on the bulletin board website 4chan, include the source code for Windows XP Service Pack 1, Windows Server 2003, MS DOS 3.30, MS DOS 6.0, Windows 2000, Windows CE 3, Windows CE 4, Windows CE 5, Windows Embedded 7, Windows Embedded CE, Windows NT 3.5 and Windows NT 4.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1309275918943301636"}"></div></p>
<p>Tech news site The Verge <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/25/21455655/microsoft-windows-xp-source-code-leak">claims</a> to have verified the material. And Microsoft said it was “investigating the matter”, <a href="https://www.thurrott.com/windows/241670/microsoft-is-investigating-windows-xp-source-code-leak">according to reports</a>. </p>
<p>The leak came with files containing bizarre misinformation related to Microsoft founder Bill Gates and various conspiracy theories. This is consistent with past leaks from <a href="https://www.mygc.com.au/university-of-tasmania-issue-security-alert-following-threat/">4chan</a>, a site often associated with extremist content and internet trolls. </p>
<p>Using the name “billgates3”, the leaker <a href="https://thehackernews.com/2020/09/windows-xp-source-code.html">reportedly</a> said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I created this torrent for the community, as I believe information should be free and available to everyone and hoarding information for oneself and keeping it secret is an evil act in my opinion.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If the leak is genuine, this won’t be the first time a Microsoft operating system source code was released online. At least 1GB of Windows 10 source code was leaked <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/24/15867350/microsoft-windows-10-source-code-leak">a few years ago</a>, too.</p>
<h2>Vulnerabilities in the source code</h2>
<p>The source code is the “source” of a program. It’s essentially the list of instructions a computer programmer writes when they develop a program, which can then be understood by other programmers. </p>
<p>A leaked source code can make it easier for cyber criminals to find and exploit weaknesses and serious security flaws (such as bugs) in a program. It also makes it easier for them to craft <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/help/129972/how-to-prevent-and-remove-viruses-and-other-malware">malware</a> (software designed to cause harm).</p>
<p>One example would be “rogue” security software trying to make you think your computer is infected by a virus and prompting you to download, or buy, a product to “remove” it. Instead, the download or purchase introduces a virus to your computer.</p>
<p>According to a report from computer security company F-Secure, on average it takes about <a href="https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/microsoft-has-ended-its-support-for-windows-7-so-what-does-it-mean-for-users-1.964362">20 minutes for a Windows XP machine to be hacked</a> once it’s connected to the internet.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-cybersecurity-strategy-cash-for-cyberpolice-and-training-but-the-devil-is-in-the-detail-144070">Australia’s cybersecurity strategy: cash for cyberpolice and training, but the devil is in the detail</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>Is Windows XP still supported?</h2>
<p>Windows XP <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-windows-xp-support">hasn’t had</a> “official” support from Microsoft since 2014. This means there are currently no security updates or technical support options available for users of the operating system. </p>
<p>However, until as recently as <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/microsoft-windows-xp-patch-very-bad-sign/">last year</a>, Microsoft continued to release security fixes and virus preventive measures for it. </p>
<p>The most notable was an <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/13/15635006/microsoft-windows-xp-security-patch-wannacry-ransomware-attack">emergency patch</a> released in 2017, to prevent another incident like the massive WannaCry ransomware attack from happening again. This malware affected 75,000 computers in 99 countries – <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/english-hospitals-hit-by-suspected-cyberattack-1494603884">impacting</a> hospitals, Telefonica, FedEx and other major businesses.</p>
<p>Windows XP is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ajdellinger/2019/07/31/survey-finds-one-in-three-businesses-still-run-windows-xp/#5dfdb66357fc">still used</a> by people, <a href="https://japantoday.com/category/tech/skymark-airlines-still-using-windows-xp">airlines</a>, <a href="https://www.theregister.com/2018/06/25/indian_banks_on_notice_windows_xp_must_die/">banks</a>, organisations and in industrial environments the world over.</p>
<p>In 2016, the network which runs the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne Health, <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/royal-melbourne-hospital-attacked-by-damaging-computer-virus-20160118-gm8m3v.html">was infected</a> with a virus targeting computers using Windows XP. The attack forced staff to temporarily manually process blood, tissue and urine samples.</p>
<p>Online, users have posted photos of Windows XP being used at places such as Singapore’s <a href="https://twitter.com/Mami_AtTheDisco/status/1235467882307268609">Changi Airport</a>, Heathrow Airport and Zeventem Brussels Airport.</p>
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<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1202131713561956352"}"></div></p>
<p>Although the exact figure isn’t known, <a href="https://www.techradar.com/au/news/if-you-can-believe-it-millions-of-people-are-still-using-windows-xp">one estimate</a> suggests the operating system was running on 1.26% of all laptops and desktops, as of last month.</p>
<h2>Is there still incentive for hackers to target Windows XP?</h2>
<p>The availability of the Windows XP source code opens access for cyber criminals to search for “<a href="https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/108762/data-breach/windows-xp-server-2003-code-leaked.html">zero-day threats</a>” in the code that could be exploited. </p>
<p>These are discovered flaws in software, hardware or firmware that are unknown to the parties responsible for patching or “fixing” them – in this case, Microsoft.</p>
<p>Zero-day threats are often found in older ATM machines, for example, as these can’t be patch-managed remotely. This is because they have an embedded version of Windows XP with limited connectivity. </p>
<p>To upgrade in such cases, a bank’s IT professionals would have to visit the machines one by one, branch by branch, to <a href="https://hackernoon.com/do-atms-running-windows-xp-pose-a-security-risk-you-can-bank-on-it-1b7817902d61">apply security patches for the embedded systems</a>. One report suggests hackers can break through the defences and security features of these older style ATMs within <a href="https://www.itproportal.com/news/security-firms-warn-that-most-atms-still-run-windows-xp/">10-15 minutes</a>. </p>
<p>There’s no easy way to confirm whether ATMs in Australia are still running this 19-year-old software, but <a href="https://www.techradar.com/au/news/atm-security-still-running-windows-xp">past</a> <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/is-running-windows-xp-on-atms-stupid/">reports</a> indicate this could be the case. <em>The Conversation</em> has reached out to certain parties to obtain this information and is awaiting a response. </p>
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<h2>Possible defences</h2>
<p>Windows XP was left to its own defences back in 2014 when Microsoft stopped mainstream support for the operating system.</p>
<p>But as one of Microsoft’s <a href="https://screenrant.com/microsoft-windows-xp-source-code-leak-matters/">most widely-used operating systems</a>, it’s still being run and could be around for many <a href="https://windowsreport.com/keep-using-windows-xp/">years to come</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/14223/windows-xp-end-of-support">According to Microsoft Support</a>, since Windows XP is no longer supported, computers running it “will not be secure and will still be at <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-08/microsoft-windows-vulnerability-bluekeep-and-cyber-security-risk/11277270">risk for infection</a>”.</p>
<p>Any antivirus software has limited effectiveness on computers that don’t have the latest security updates. The number of holes in software also increases as machines are left unpatched. </p>
<p>Luckily, most organisations have strategies (requiring money and human resources) to manage large-scale upgrades and isolate their most critical systems.</p>
<p>If your computers are still running on the extremely <a href="https://www.cio.com/article/2371858/windows-xp-turns-10--what-tech-was-like-in-2001.html">outdated Windows XP operating system</a>, you too should migrate to a more modern one. No one can force you, but it’s certainly a good idea.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/apple-iphones-could-have-been-hacked-for-years-heres-what-to-do-about-it-122860">Apple iPhones could have been hacked for years – here's what to do about it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147018/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The outdated Microsoft operating system was recently dumped online in a huge leak. Hackers can now scour it for bugs to exploit.Brianna O'Shea, Lecturer, Ethical Hacking and Defense, Edith Cowan UniversityPaul Haskell-Dowland, Associate Dean (Computing and Security), Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1355572020-07-27T20:04:23Z2020-07-27T20:04:23ZPivot to coronavirus: how meme factories are crafting public health messaging<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348056/original/file-20200716-27-10ava0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C8%2C5955%2C5982&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">United Nations COVID-19 Response//unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Memes might seem like they emerge “naturally”, circulated by like-minded social media users and independently generating momentum. But successful memes often don’t happen by accident.</p>
<p>I’ve spent the past two years studying the history and culture of “meme factories”, especially in Singapore and Malaysia.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-are-memes-20789">Explainer: what are memes?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Meme factories are a coordinated network of creators or accounts who produce and host <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/what-defines-a-meme-1904778/">memes</a>. </p>
<p>They can take the form of a single creator managing a network of accounts and platforms, or creators who collaborate informally in hobby groups, or groups working as a commercial business. </p>
<p>These factories will use strategic calculations to “go viral”, and at times seek to maximise commercial potential for sponsors. </p>
<p>Through this, they can have a huge influence in shaping social media. And – using the language of internet visual pop culture – meme factories can shift public opinion. </p>
<h2>When meme factories were born</h2>
<p>The first mention of meme factories seems to have been a slide in a <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_moot_poole_the_case_for_anonymity_online/transcript">2010 TED talk</a> by Christopher Poole, the founder of the controversial uncensored internet forum <a href="https://mashable.com/category/4chan/">4chan</a>. </p>
<p>4chan, said Poole, was “completely raw, completely unfiltered”. He introduced his audience to the new internet phenomenon of “memes” coming out of the forum, including <a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/lolcats">LOLcats</a> and <a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rickroll">Rickrolling</a> – the largest memes to have emerged in the 2000s.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="LOLcat meme reading: Im in ur foldur keruptin yr fylez" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348059/original/file-20200716-35-l1ws9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348059/original/file-20200716-35-l1ws9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348059/original/file-20200716-35-l1ws9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348059/original/file-20200716-35-l1ws9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348059/original/file-20200716-35-l1ws9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348059/original/file-20200716-35-l1ws9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348059/original/file-20200716-35-l1ws9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘LOLcats’ were one of the meme forms of the 2000s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Clancy Ratliff/Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Today, corporate meme factories systematically <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/instagrams-content-factories-are-huge-and-thats-a-problem-for-facebook/ar-AAHVGAh?li=BBoPU0R">churn out</a> posts to hundreds of millions of followers. </p>
<p>They <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2012/10/24/3541836/2012-presidential-">commissioned artists</a> to “live-GIF” the 2012 US Presidential Election debates in an assembly line of soft political content. They <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/josehernandez/this-is-what-we-know-about-the-facebook-group-that">congregated on a closed Facebook group</a> to decide who could “take credit” for a school shooting. They created <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/13/style/michael-bloomberg-memes-jerry-media.html">sponsored political posts</a> for Michael Bloomberg’s Presidential campaign.</p>
<p>On reddit’s gaming communities, activating a meme factory (sincerely or in jest) requires willing members to react with coordinated (and at times, inauthentic) action by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Gamingcirclejerk/comments/99qe89/its_time_to_start_the_mem">flooding social media threads</a>. </p>
<p>Amid K-pop fandoms on Twitter, meanwhile, K-pop idols who are prone to <a href="https://twitter.com/_ILLhoonie/status/972846205465108481">making awkward or funny expressions</a> are also affectionately called meme factories, with their faces used as reaction images. </p>
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<h2>Three types of factories</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/meme-factory-cultures-and-content-pivoting-in-singapore-and-malaysia-during-covid-19/">my research</a>, I studied how memes can be weaponised to disseminate political and public service messages. </p>
<p>I have identified three types of factories: </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348304/original/file-20200720-27-10n7vyt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348304/original/file-20200720-27-10n7vyt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=274&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348304/original/file-20200720-27-10n7vyt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=274&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348304/original/file-20200720-27-10n7vyt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=274&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348304/original/file-20200720-27-10n7vyt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348304/original/file-20200720-27-10n7vyt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348304/original/file-20200720-27-10n7vyt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Meme factories can be single curators or collaborative groups.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Crystal Abidin</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Commercial meme factories are digital and news media companies whose core business is to incorporate advertising into original content. </p>
<p>For instance SGAG, owned by Singaporean parent company <a href="https://www.thedrum.com/news/2020/05/04/laughter-the-best-medicine-hepmil-media-group-using-humour-during-coronavirus">HEPMIL Media Group</a>, has commissioned memes for various business partners, including promotions of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sgag.sg/videos/281974762890592">radio stations</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CBnM_WUBmcB/">groceries</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CBPYiBJJ0oP/">COVID-19 recovery initiatives</a>. </p>
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<p>Hobbyish niche meme factories, in contrast, are social media accounts curating content produced by a single person or small group of admins, based on specific vernaculars and aesthetics to interest their target group. </p>
<p>One example is the illustration collective <a href="https://www.instagram.com/highnunchicken/?hl=en">highnunchicken</a>, which creates original comics that are a critical — and at times cynical — commentary about social life in Singapore. </p>
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<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/STcomments/">STcomments</a>, meanwhile, collates screengrabs of “ridiculous” comments from the Facebook page of The Straits Times, calling out inane humour, racism, xenophobia and classism, and providing space for Singaporeans to push back against these sentiments. </p>
<p>The third type of meme factory is meme generator and aggregator chat groups – networks of volunteer members who collate, brainstorm and seed meme contents across platforms. </p>
<p>One of these is <a href="https://t.me/joinchat/C-bhhEwufsxZaUsv0TiSdA">Memes n Dreams</a>, where members use a <a href="https://justaskthales.com/en/telegram-different-messaging-apps/">Telegram</a> chat group to share interesting memes, post their original memes, and brainstorm over “meme challenges” that call upon the group to create content to promote a specific message.</p>
<h2>Factories during coronavirus</h2>
<p>Meme factories work quickly to respond to the world around them, so it is no surprise in 2020 they have pivoted to providing relief or promoting public health messages around COVID-19. </p>
<p>Some factories launched new initiatives to harness their large follower base to promote and sustain small local businesses; others took to intentionally politicising their memes to challenge censorship laws in Singapore and Malaysia. </p>
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<p>Factories turned memes into public service announcements to educate viewers on topics including hand hygiene and navigating misinformation. </p>
<p>They also focused on providing viewers with entertainment to lighten the mood during self-isolation. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/B-HS2eAHsZJ","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Memes are highly contextual, and often require insider knowledge to decode. </p>
<p>Many memes that have gone viral during COVID-19 started out as satire and were shared by Millenials on Instagram or Facebook. As they spread, they evolved into misinformed folklore and misinformation, shared on WhatsApp by older generations who didn’t understand their satirical roots.</p>
<p>An early Facebook meme about how rubbing chilli fruits over your hands prevent COVID-19 (because the sting from the spice would burn and you would stop touching your face) very quickly evolved into a WhatsApp hoax saying the heat from chilli powder would kill COVID-19 viruses. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348301/original/file-20200720-37-emuodt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348301/original/file-20200720-37-emuodt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348301/original/file-20200720-37-emuodt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348301/original/file-20200720-37-emuodt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348301/original/file-20200720-37-emuodt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348301/original/file-20200720-37-emuodt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348301/original/file-20200720-37-emuodt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A meme that was shared among Instagram Millennials became distorted and shared on WhatsApp among Boomers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Crystal Abidin</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Memes can be orchestrated by savvy meme factories who operate behind the scenes; or by ordinary people engaging in democratic citizen feedback. Beyond the joy, laughs (and misinformation), memes are a crucial medium of public communication and persuasion.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135557/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Crystal Abidin receives funding from Facebook and the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Successful memes don’t often happen by accident. And COVID-19 has become a popular topic for their creators.Crystal Abidin, Senior Research Fellow & ARC DECRA, Internet Studies, Curtin University, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1415812020-07-08T16:55:40Z2020-07-08T16:55:40ZQAnon conspiracy theory followers step out of the shadows and may be headed to Congress<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345914/original/file-20200706-21-14r2dbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C44%2C4936%2C3027&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A man holds a sign that reads 'Q-Nited We Stand' during a gun-rights rally held in Seattle in 2018. The QAnon community has moved from the fringes of the internet to mainstream politics in less than three years.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Until recently, many people didn’t take conspiracy movements seriously, even though violent acts have been perpetrated by <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7021882/rcmp-incel-terrorism-guide/">those on the fringe</a>. People who believe in false conspiracy theories are often <a href="https://gnet-research.org/2020/06/08/digital-platforms-and-extremism-2-electric-boogaloo/">just considered silly</a> or weird.</p>
<p>Below the surface, however, there are movements from these communities that have negatively affected our societies, and will continue to do so. The most prominent of these conspiracy communities <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/qanon-nothing-can-stop-what-is-coming/610567/">is the QAnon movement</a>.</p>
<p>QAnon adherents are not your caricature conspiracy theorists wearing tin foil hats and living in their parents’ basement. Some may soon be elected officials.</p>
<p>QAnon has an interesting place in the fringe. Though birthed from the same “<a href="https://gnet-research.org/2019/12/31/chan-culture-and-violent-extremism-past-present-and-future/">chan culture</a>” as other fringe internet conspiracy communities, QAnon is still in full evolution. </p>
<p>This October will mark three years since the inception of the QAnon movement after someone known only as Q posted a series of conspiracy theories on the internet forum 4chan.</p>
<h2>From online fringes to mainstream politics</h2>
<p>What started as a conspiracy theory — about a deep state satanic cabal of global elites involved in pedophilia, sex trafficking and supposedly responsible for all the evil in the world — has moved from the world of online into mainstream popular culture.</p>
<p>In his book <a href="https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199351800.001.0001/acprof-9780199351800"><em>American Conspiracy Theories</em></a>, political scientist Joseph Uscinski writes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“ … conspiracy theories are essentially alarm systems and coping mechanisms to help deal with threats. Consequently, they tend to resonate when groups are suffering from loss, weakness or disunity. But nothing fails like success, and ascending groups trigger dynamics that check and eventually reverse the advance of conspiracy theories.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Though academic research would suggest that <a href="https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199351800.001.0001/acprof-9780199351800-chapter-6">conspiracy theories are for “losers,”</a> QAnon has thrived. After all, the community propagating the QAnon conspiracies was on the winning side of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Recent reports also suggest the pandemic has been <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/qanon-coronavirus-disinformation_n_5eea6123c5b6a475b84c90c2">beneficial to QAnon</a>, a boon for the movement in terms of new members and an increase in social media content.</p>
<h2>Increase in Q content on Facebook</h2>
<p>I have been researching the QAnon movement since 2018. Based on my most recent social media analysis, QAnon has seen a 71 per cent increase in Twitter content and a 651 per cent increase on Facebook since March 2020.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jun/25/qanon-facebook-conspiracy-theories-algorithm">Facebook</a> has seen a veritable QAnon boom. Currently in my data set there are 179 QAnon groups with more than 1.4 million members, and 120 QAnon pages with a total of 911,000 page likes. The most interesting element of this Facebook boom is that most of the new pages are international, providing QAnon content in many different languages.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/qanon-conspiracy-theories-about-the-coronavirus-pandemic-are-a-public-health-threat-135515">QAnon conspiracy theories about the coronavirus pandemic are a public health threat</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>QAnon has used its increased visibility to <a href="https://medium.com/dfrlab/why-the-debunked-covid-19-conspiracy-video-plandemic-wont-go-away-c9dd36c2037c">spread</a> <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/naturally-we-now-have-a-cottage-industry-of-coronavirus-truther-assholes">medical</a> disinformation, <a href="https://theconversation.com/qanon-conspiracy-theories-about-the-coronavirus-pandemic-are-a-public-health-threat-135515">raising public health concerns</a>. They have also been the source of <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/06/18/fact-check-ellen-degeneres-oprah-winfrey-others-not-house-arrest/5333585002/">wild sex trafficking claims</a>, forcing <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/03/18/oprah-winfrey-qanon-conspiracy/">some celebrities</a> to <a href="https://www.insider.com/hilary-duff-responds-to-qanon-conspiracy-theories-about-child-trafficking-2020-5">respond to their allegations</a>.</p>
<p>One of the more important signs of QAnon moving into the mainstream is the growing number of QAnon supporters running campaigns for the U.S. Congress.</p>
<h2>Most Q candidates are Republicans</h2>
<p>Researcher Alex Kaplan of the U.S. not-for-profit publication <em>Media Matters</em> has found <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/here-are-qanon-supporters-running-congress-2020">62 QAnon believers ran in congressional primaries</a> in 27 different states. Almost all of them ran as Republicans, although a few were independents.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345910/original/file-20200706-29-1izxrsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345910/original/file-20200706-29-1izxrsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345910/original/file-20200706-29-1izxrsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345910/original/file-20200706-29-1izxrsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345910/original/file-20200706-29-1izxrsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345910/original/file-20200706-29-1izxrsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345910/original/file-20200706-29-1izxrsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">QAnon follower Marjorie Greene is expected to win the Republican nomination for a safe GOP seat in Georgia. Her candidacy has been endorsed by President Donald Trump.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Marjorie Greene campaign)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At least 12 of these candidates will be on the ballot in November — five in California, two in Illinois and one each in Oregon, Georgia, Ohio, Texas and Colorado, with two more candidates in runoff races in Georgia and Texas. Results from primaries showed <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/01/nearly-600000-people-have-voted-candidates-who-support-qanon/">nearly 600,000</a> people voted for candidates who support QAnon.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/17/house-republicans-condemn-gop-candidate-racist-videos-325579">Marjorie Greene</a> is the star QAnon candidate and is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/09/us/elections/results-georgia-house-district-14-primary-election.html">expected to win the runoff</a> for a safe Republican seat in Georgia. Trump congratulated Greene after she came in first in the party’s primary and called her <a href="https://www.axios.com/marjorie-greene-georgia-qanon-congress-b4167e4b-e42b-4c27-812c-524ee2ec2715.html">a “big winner.”</a></p>
<h2>Five-term incumbent defeated</h2>
<p>On June 30, five-term GOP incumbent <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/gop-rep-scott-tipton-upset-colorado-primary-pistol-packing-pro-n1232634">Scott Tipton from Colorado was upset</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1262395371696816135?s=20">Lauren Boebert</a>, who stated in an interview with the conservative website Steel Truth that she was “very familiar” with QAnon.</p>
<p>“Everything I have heard of this movement is only motivating, and encouraging and bringing people together, stronger and if this is real than it can be really great for our country,” said Boebert, who is now on the ballot for November’s election.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345913/original/file-20200706-4000-4h1yww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345913/original/file-20200706-4000-4h1yww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345913/original/file-20200706-4000-4h1yww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345913/original/file-20200706-4000-4h1yww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345913/original/file-20200706-4000-4h1yww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345913/original/file-20200706-4000-4h1yww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345913/original/file-20200706-4000-4h1yww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton (centre) of Colorado was defeated by challenger and QAnon conspiracy believer Lauren Boebert in a primary held June 30.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee called upon the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) to disavow Boebert for her QAnon beliefs, the NRCC told the <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/a-qanon-supporter-just-beat-a-republican-congressman-in-colorado_n_5efbfb3fc5b6ca97091685a3?ri18n=true"><em>Huffington Post</em></a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“We’ll get back to you when … the DCCC disavow(s) dangerous conspiracy theorists like Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff who have pushed without evidence their wild-eyed claims that the president of the United States of America is actually a secret Russian double agent under control of the Kremlin.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Q supporter running for Senate</h2>
<p>QAnon candidates are not limited to the House of Representatives. Oregon recently selected <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/05/19/us/elections/results-oregon-senate-primary-election.html">Jo Rae Perkins</a>, a QAnon follower, as the GOP <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/21/republican-qanon-conspiracy-theory-jo-rae-perkins">Senate candidate</a>.</p>
<p>QAnon is no longer the simple fringe conspiracy movement it was at its inception three years ago. It now resembles a <a href="https://religiondispatches.org/in-the-name-of-the-father-son-and-q-why-its-important-to-see-qanon-as-a-hyper-real-religion/">mainstream religious</a> and political ideology. Some candidates perceive QAnon as an ideological platform they can campaign on, while others view QAnon adherents as an electoral base from which they can gain votes.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-church-of-qanon-will-conspiracy-theories-form-the-basis-of-a-new-religious-movement-137859">The Church of QAnon: Will conspiracy theories form the basis of a new religious movement?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345912/original/file-20200706-3943-5sc6g5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345912/original/file-20200706-3943-5sc6g5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=837&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345912/original/file-20200706-3943-5sc6g5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=837&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345912/original/file-20200706-3943-5sc6g5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=837&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345912/original/file-20200706-3943-5sc6g5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1052&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345912/original/file-20200706-3943-5sc6g5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1052&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345912/original/file-20200706-3943-5sc6g5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1052&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eric Trump tweeted (and later deleted) a QAnon-themed message on the day of President Donald Trump’s controversial campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Twitter)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Trump has amplified tweets from supporters of the QAnon conspiracy movement <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/fbi-calls-qanon-domestic-terror-threat-trump-has-amplified-qanon-supporters-twitter-more-20">at least 185 times</a>, including <a href="https://twitter.com/AlKapDC/status/1276897728283447297">more than 90 times since the start of the pandemic</a>.</p>
<p>Trump associates such as his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, campaign manager Brad Pascale, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Donald Trump Jr. have all amplified QAnon content as well. Most recently, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2020/06/20/eric-trump-promotes-qanon-conspiracy-on-instagram-while-plugging-tulsa-rally/">Eric Trump</a> promoted QAnon on Instagram when plugging the president’s controversial rally that was held Tulsa, Okla.</p>
<p>Writer and conspiracy researcher <a href="https://www.pbs.org/video/the-cult-of-qanon-zvxtct/">Travis View notes</a>: “QAnon conspiracy theories are promoted at the highest levels of power, when it wasn’t that long ago conspiracy theories were the pastime of the powerless.”</p>
<p>If QAnon believers make their way to the halls of Congress, those once considered powerless will have achieved real power. As journalists and researchers raise awareness about QAnon candidates, American voters will need to determine if they’re ready to to entrust the responsibility of their democratic institutions to QAnon adherents.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141581/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marc-André Argentino receives funding from Concordia University.
Marc-André Argentino is affiliated with the Global Network on Extremism & Technology
Marc-André Argentino is affiliated with the Centre d'Expertise et de Formation sur les Intégrismes Religieux, les Idéologies Politiques et la Radicalisation.</span></em></p>Believers of QAnon fringe conspiracy theories have moved into the mainstream political arena, including several who will be running as Republican candidates in the U.S. elections this fall.Marc-André Argentino, PhD candidate Individualized Program, 2020-2021 Public Scholar, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1389872020-05-26T11:11:59Z2020-05-26T11:11:59ZHow to understand Obamagate – Donald Trump’s latest conspiracy theory<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337574/original/file-20200526-106836-1q8o3x7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://twitter.com/JoanneWT09/status/1259614457015103490">Andrew Cline / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Obamagate is the latest conspiracy theory to be pushed by US president, Donald Trump. It started on the morning of May 10, when Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/JoanneWT09/status/1259614457015103490">retweeted</a> the word “OBAMAGATE!” By the next day, the Obamagate hashtag <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/obamagate-trends-on-twitter-following-trumps-latest-claims-of-deep-state-ploy-to-undo-him">had accrued over two million tweets</a> and another four million by the end of the week. Trump has repeatedly reused the slogan on his Twitter feed since and it has been promoted by right-wing influencers including <a href="https://twitter.com/glennbeck/status/1261049756589195267">Glenn Beck</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/seanhannity/status/1260011852660002816">Sean Hannity</a> and many others.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1259614457015103490"}"></div></p>
<p>You are not alone if you’re confused by what Obamagate actually is or why Trump is tweeting about it. When a reporter from the Washington Post asked the president to explain it in a press briefing, <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4876088/user-clip-trump-obamagate">he replied</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Obamagate! It’s been going on for a long time. It’s been going on since before I even got elected … Some terrible things happened, and it should never be allowed to happen in our country again … and I wish you’d write honestly about it but unfortunately you choose not to do so.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>When asked for specifics, Trump added: “The crime is very obvious to everybody, all you have to do is read the newspapers, except yours.” </p>
<p>Obamagate is a half-baked conspiracy theory, which is why Trump’s explanation seems cryptic and incoherent. Accusing the Obama administration of a vague cover-up, relating to the investigation into collusion with Russia that has dogged Trump’s presidency, it conjures up the spectre of a vast conspiracy without providing much explanation. Its very vagueness, however, is part of what makes it attractive to those among Trump’s fan base who see themselves as <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-conspiracy-theories-spread-online-its-not-just-down-to-algorithms-133891">researchers in search of the truth</a>.</p>
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<h2>QAnon links</h2>
<p>Obamagate is strongly linked to the QAnon conspiracy theory – on Twitter, these hashtags are frequently used alongside each other. <a href="https://theconversation.com/qanon-conspiracy-theories-about-the-coronavirus-pandemic-are-a-public-health-threat-135515">QAnon</a> is a well-established deep state conspiracy theory centred around a shadowy figure “Q” with supposed insider government knowledge. Q posts anonymously (hence QAnon) in far-right online forums, stoking up the idea that a deep state cabal of global elites is responsible for all the evil in the world. Followers see Trump as the world’s only hope in bringing down this cabal and claim that Q requested Trump to post <a href="https://8kun.top/qresearch/res/9109729.html#9110010">the first #Obamagate tweet</a>. </p>
<p>With its origins on fringe messageboard websites such 4chan, the QAnon conspiracy theory has <a href="http://salhagen.nl/dmi19/normiefication">gone increasingly mainstream</a> in recent years. Indeed, it has become so popular that it currently appears to be taking the shape of a new religious movement among its acolytes, some of whom <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-church-of-qanon-will-conspiracy-theories-form-the-basis-of-a-new-religious-movement-137859">now even convene worship groups</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337575/original/file-20200526-106862-1bgyxle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337575/original/file-20200526-106862-1bgyxle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337575/original/file-20200526-106862-1bgyxle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337575/original/file-20200526-106862-1bgyxle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337575/original/file-20200526-106862-1bgyxle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337575/original/file-20200526-106862-1bgyxle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337575/original/file-20200526-106862-1bgyxle.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">QAnon followers back Donald Trump.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/phoenix-october-19-2018-trump-supporters-1207940566">Eric Rosenwald / Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Like a lot of conspiracy theories, QAnon serves a political purpose. It emerged at the time of the official investigation into alleged Russian collusion in the Trump presidential campaign, led by former special counsel Robert Mueller. Similarly, Obamagate has a clear political agenda. It accuses the Obama administration of masterminding the Russia investigation to tarnish Trump’s presidency from the outset. More importantly, it diverts attention away from the current coronavirus crisis, suggesting that Trump is the victim of a far-reaching plot to undermine his authority.</p>
<h2>Propaganda play</h2>
<p>Obamagate is an example of what has been called “conspiracy without theory” by the political scientists <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691188836/a-lot-of-people-are-saying">Nancy Rosenblum and Russell Muirhead</a>. It makes knowing gestures towards the idea of a conspiracy theory without developing or committing to an actual full-blown explanation. This is a rhetorical technique that Trump has long used to great effect, both as a <a href="https://books.google.nl/books/about/Dog_Whistle_Politics.html?id=cZe1AQAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y">dog-whistle</a> appeal to <a href="https://books.google.nl/books/about/The_Reactionary_Mind.html?id=fpc4DwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y">American conservatives</a> and an attempt to deflect attention from his many blunders. In this case, it’s his administration’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/fast-acting-countries-cut-their-coronavirus-death-rates-while-us-delays-cost-thousands-of-lives-139018">mismanagement of the coronavirus crisis</a>. </p>
<p>As the scholar Jason Stanley <a href="https://books.google.nl/books?redir_esc=y&hl=nl&id=NARIDwAAQBAJ&q=provide+simple+explanations+for+otherwise+irrational+emotions%2C+such+as+resentment+or+xenophobic+fear+in+the+face+of+perceived+threats#v=snippet&q=provide%20simple%20explanations%20for%20otherwise%20irrational%20emotions%2C%20such%20as%20resentment%20or%20xenophobic%20fear%20in%20the%20face%20of%20perceived%20threats&f=false">has pointed out</a>, this form of political speech offers “simple explanations for otherwise irrational emotions, such as resentment or xenophobic fear in the face of perceived threats”. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-dangerous-are-conspiracy-theories-listen-to-part-five-of-our-expert-guide-136070">How dangerous are conspiracy theories? Listen to part five of our expert guide</a>
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<p>Obamagate is a classic case of propaganda in that it is intended to create an aura of innuendo in order to reframe the narrative. It is an attempt to deflect attention away from the Trump administration’s disastrous handling of the coronavirus pandemic by making Trump out to be the victim. In a similar manner to how Pizzagate <a href="http://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/1422">tarnished Hillary Clinton’s electoral prospects in 2016</a>, Obamagate is part of Trump’s campaign strategy to defeat the democratic nominee Joe Biden in the upcoming presidential election. </p>
<p>The difference from Pizzagate, however, is that this time Trump has abandoned the pretence of keeping the conspiracy theory at arm’s length. Desperate to reset the narrative, he has thrown in his lot with some of the most extreme and fringe elements of his base. In the past, Trump’s fans on 4chan often referred to him as <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=God+Emperor+Trump&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjvnNi89MbpAhXR-qQKHaJmA0QQ_AUoAXoECGMQAw&biw=1337&bih=749">God Emperor Trump</a>. After Obamagate, it would now seem that the proverbial emperor has no clothes. </p>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301912/original/file-20191115-66957-gxdqkd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301912/original/file-20191115-66957-gxdqkd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301912/original/file-20191115-66957-gxdqkd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301912/original/file-20191115-66957-gxdqkd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301912/original/file-20191115-66957-gxdqkd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301912/original/file-20191115-66957-gxdqkd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301912/original/file-20191115-66957-gxdqkd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>Get the latest news and analysis, direct from the experts in your inbox, every day. Join hundreds of thousands who trust experts by <strong><a href="http://theconversation.com/newsletter?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCNewsletter&utm_content=newsletterA">subscribing to our newsletter</a></strong>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138987/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The author received funding from the ODYCCEUS Horizon 2020 project, grant agreement number 732942.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Knight does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Obamagate is strongly linked to the QAnon conspiracy theory – on Twitter these hashtags are frequently used alongside each other.Marc Tuters, Department of Media & Culture, Faculty of Humanities, University of AmsterdamPeter Knight, Professor of American Studies, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/725982017-03-07T12:50:28Z2017-03-07T12:50:28ZHow an ancient Egyptian god spurred the rise of Trump<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159184/original/image-20170302-14724-1eu5bim.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">"Have you seen what @realDonaldTrump just tweeted?!"</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14786581543/">Flickr</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Donald Trump’s presidency is well underway, but many observers are still trying to understand how he won the office in the first place. Plenty of explanations are circulating, from Hillary Clinton’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/12/20/the-worst-candidate-of-2016/?utm_term=.0b7ae4e11ef3">weaknesses</a> as a candidate to pervasive <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/world/north-america/2016/11/hillary-clinton-lost-because-her-gender-and-it-hurts-hell">sexism</a> and <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/trumps-road-to-victory/507203/">class disenfranchisement</a> in the Rust Belt. But whatever the truth, those who worked tirelessly on behalf of Trump have got what they were after. </p>
<p>A small subset of these campaigners is worth special attention. Not so much because of their political convictions but because of their unrestrained fervour to fulfil an ancient Egyptian prophecy involving Trump, a cartoon frog, and an online counterculture.</p>
<p>The story starts with the infamous online image board 4chan, which has been a weather-vane of internet subculture since its conception in 2003. 4chan is divided into sub-forums about topics ranging from video games and anime to politics. Users communicate largely through memes – images somehow grounded in pop culture and featuring a recurring character, figure or phrase. Around 2010, 4chan users began posting and reposting the image of a cartoon frog, <a href="http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/pepe-the-frog">Pepe</a>. By 2015, his wrinkly, wide-eyed face had become a staple meme within the community.</p>
<p>The sub-forum “/pol/” caters to the internet’s extreme fringe: anarchists, communists, far-right extremists and white supremacists. /pol/ is 4chan’s second most popular sub-forum, and is one of the main forces that set the tone for online fringe political discussion.</p>
<p>Pepe the frog and /pol/ first collided with the outside world in June of 2015, when Trump announced his candidacy for president of the united states. Trump, with his aversion to “political correctness” and penchant for flair and showmanship, was /pol/’s immediate candidate of choice. And so, Pepe the frog was edited to wear a “Make America Great Again” hat, and began appearing in hundreds of Trump-supporting forum posts.</p>
<p>At that very time, an event of religious significance to /pol/ contributors was approaching. </p>
<p>Each post published on 4chan bears an identifying number, assigned consecutively by order of publication. Because of the huge number of posts published every day, this number is practically random. 4chan has an old tradition of users trying to have their posts obtain certain special numbers, known as “gets”. The most precious “gets” are round numbers (such as 1m) or those that repeat all their digits. By October of 2015, /pol/ was approaching its <a href="https://pepethefrogfaith.wordpress.com/">77777777th post</a>, seen to be of particular importance because the number 7 is often associated with good luck and fortune. The post that would “get” that number was sure to gain legendary status within the community.</p>
<p>As it happened, the 77777777th “get” was for the message “Trump will win”.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159165/original/image-20170302-14709-1wmnpza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159165/original/image-20170302-14709-1wmnpza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159165/original/image-20170302-14709-1wmnpza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=59&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159165/original/image-20170302-14709-1wmnpza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=59&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159165/original/image-20170302-14709-1wmnpza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=59&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159165/original/image-20170302-14709-1wmnpza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=75&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159165/original/image-20170302-14709-1wmnpza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=75&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159165/original/image-20170302-14709-1wmnpza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=75&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The 77777777th post on 4chan’s /pol/ sub-forum.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>This sent /pol/ and the broader 4chan community into paroxysms of amazement and glee. To fulfil this prophecy, the sub-forum started an online campaign in support of Trump. Users on /pol/ believed that the best way they could help Trump’s chances of victory was by creating and spreading pro-Trump internet memes outside of 4chan. They called it the “meme war”: if they could expose regular social media users (“normies”) to as many pro-Trump memes as possible, Trump would forever dominate the online news cycle, giving him a better chance of winning the primaries and maybe even the presidency.</p>
<p>It was from this melting pot that the cult of Kek emerged.</p>
<h2>Hail Trump</h2>
<p>The word “Kek”, originally a Korean onomatopoeia for a raspy laugh, had long been used on 4chan as a replacement for “lol” (laughing out loud). One day, a /pol/ contributor <a href="http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/cult-of-kek">discovered</a> that Kek is also the name of an ancient Egyptian frog god.</p>
<p>The similarities between Kek and Pepe were striking enough as it was, but Kek also has a female alter ego, or nemesis, that takes the form of a snake. This was quickly taken to symbolise Clinton, a universally reviled character within the /pol/ community. What’s more, to our modern eyes, the hieroglyphs supposedly used to write the name Kek in ancient Egyptian even strongly resemble a man sitting in front of his computer.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159163/original/image-20170302-14714-recbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159163/original/image-20170302-14714-recbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159163/original/image-20170302-14714-recbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159163/original/image-20170302-14714-recbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159163/original/image-20170302-14714-recbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159163/original/image-20170302-14714-recbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159163/original/image-20170302-14714-recbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A user’s collage of Kek/Pepe memes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Keklord.png">Prophet of kek999/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>Some of this, incidentally, is simply incorrect. According to an Egyptologist we contacted, Kek – which perhaps fittingly means “darkness” in ancient Egyptian – is not in fact a frog god per se, but rather one of four male Egyptian gods who are usually depicted with frog’s heads. Their female counterparts are depicted with serpentine heads. The hieroglyphs on the frog statuette above actually spell “Heqet”, which is the real name of the Egyptian frog goddess often associated with fertility and procreation.</p>
<p>Historical inaccuracies notwithstanding, this series of coincidences proved too much for the 4chan community to ignore, and the cult of Kek was born. The frog-headed Kek became the father, Pepe the holy spirit, and Trump the son, sent to Earth to fulfil a divine destiny.</p>
<p>Kek’s followers busied themselves disseminating Pepe memes everywhere on the mainstream internet. The Clinton campaign mistakenly attributed their efforts to a Nazi-esque ideology, and <a href="https://www.hillaryclinton.com/feed/donald-trump-pepe-the-frog-and-white-supremacists-an-explainer/">declared</a> Pepe a public enemy – a grave misunderstanding of online counterculture. Until then, Pepe had been a harmless meme on the mainstream internet, with celebrities like Katy Perry retweeting images of him; sudden demonisation by the Clinton campaign endowed the cult with a remarkable legitimacy.</p>
<p>Kek cultists and 4chan’s Trump followers flocked to vote in <a href="http://fortune.com/2016/09/27/trump-online-polls/">online post-debate polls</a>, racking up huge Trump margins. Trump repeatedly cited these results as proof of his debating prowess, although the polls concerned allowed people to vote more than once. This allowed him to present a narrative of unstoppable victory, even in the face of what would normally have been campaign-destroying scandals.</p>
<p>What this saga means for the future role of the internet in political campaigning isn’t yet clear, but a precedent has been set: no matter how bizarre or misinformed, the collective power of tens of thousands of internet cultists appears to works wonders.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72598/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What connects a cartoon frog, misappropriated mythology and the US’s 45th president?Adrià Salvador Palau, PhD Student in Asset Management, University of CambridgeJon Roozenbeek, PhD Student in Slavonic Studies, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/685802016-11-30T03:29:32Z2016-11-30T03:29:32ZHow Donald Trump won the 2016 meme wars<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/147095/original/image-20161123-19709-sxf0qn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Unlike Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump did not give a subculture a corporate, establishment sheen by appropriating it.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Cesare Abbate</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If news pundits had been paying closer attention to memes, they might have been less shocked by the result of the 2016 US presidential election. Election memes reflected the political narrative of Hillary Clinton’s inauthenticity and corruption, and Donald Trump’s capacity to understand and connect to his followers.</p>
<p>Clinton’s persona was shaped, in part, by her engagement with celebrity and popular culture. Along the campaign trail, she committed the cardinal sins of misusing teen slang and adopting youth culture for political gain. </p>
<p>On The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Clinton <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1aYwQDqPDQ">learned how to “dab”</a>:</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j1aYwQDqPDQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Hillary Clinton ‘dabs’.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Her Twitter account asked:</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"631538115514007553"}"></div></p>
<p>And, at a rally, she implored voters to “Pokemon Go to the polls”:</p>
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<p>Clinton’s pandering emphasised her campaign’s similarities to the marketing strategies of Big Business, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/fellowkids">reeking of inauthenticity</a>. The message many young voters received was that Clinton condescended to them with exploitative versions of their own subcultures.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/bernie-or-hillary">“Bernie Or Hillary” meme</a> demonstrates this sentiment in action. It compared Bernie Sanders’ popularity among young voters to Clinton’s generational pandering. The memes depict Hillary as lamely mainstream, while Bernie answers with a “cool” response.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146937/original/image-20161122-24538-cuzqco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146937/original/image-20161122-24538-cuzqco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=618&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146937/original/image-20161122-24538-cuzqco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=618&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146937/original/image-20161122-24538-cuzqco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=618&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146937/original/image-20161122-24538-cuzqco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=777&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146937/original/image-20161122-24538-cuzqco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=777&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146937/original/image-20161122-24538-cuzqco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=777&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One version of the Bernie or Hillary meme.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/users/2016/02/the_bernie_vs_hillary_meme_is_weird_ceaseless_and_kind_of_sexist_just_like.html">Slate</a></span>
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<p>The creators of these memes act as self-appointed cultural gatekeepers, excluding Clinton and welcoming Sanders. At the heart of these memes is the translation of Sanders’ passion in discussions of economic inequality to a meaningless cultural dispute he’d never actually address. </p>
<p>Also, they compare how Clinton fielded soft questions with how Sanders replied to hard ones.</p>
<p>In addition to depicting Clinton as a cloying woman, the “Bernie Or Hillary” meme implied that Clinton should not have been judged by the same metric as her male opponent for the Democratic nomination. </p>
<p>Ultimately, the meme reflects the failure to connect with the general public, and it acts in tandem with the <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/users/2016/02/the_bernie_vs_hillary_meme_is_weird_ceaseless_and_kind_of_sexist_just_like.html">sexist systems of production</a> and consumption that have worked to delegitimise Clinton for 30 years (for example, being judged by her husband’s actions).</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Trump was praised for his directness of speech – no matter how contradictory, garbled, or inflammatory. He became a mascot of anti-political-correctness for groups such as the alt-right, an online far-right movement housed in forums like Reddit and its hostile brother 4chan. In recent years, communities on 4chan and Reddit have radicalised a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/15/alt-right-manosphere-mainstream-politics-breitbart">significant number of young, mostly white men</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146940/original/image-20161122-24550-oslt6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146940/original/image-20161122-24550-oslt6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146940/original/image-20161122-24550-oslt6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146940/original/image-20161122-24550-oslt6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146940/original/image-20161122-24550-oslt6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146940/original/image-20161122-24550-oslt6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146940/original/image-20161122-24550-oslt6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pepe before alt-right reclamation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/pepe-the-frog">Know Your Meme</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146941/original/image-20161122-24550-1hgu2wx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146941/original/image-20161122-24550-1hgu2wx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=966&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146941/original/image-20161122-24550-1hgu2wx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=966&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146941/original/image-20161122-24550-1hgu2wx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=966&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146941/original/image-20161122-24550-1hgu2wx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1214&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146941/original/image-20161122-24550-1hgu2wx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1214&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146941/original/image-20161122-24550-1hgu2wx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1214&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pepe after alt-right reclamation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/nazi-pepe-controversy">Know Your Meme</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These spaces have evolved into echo chambers for many far-right ideologies: nationalism, pro-guns, anti-feminism, anti-Semitism, anti-multiculturalism and white supremacy. And they quickly became bases of Trump fandom.</p>
<p>Their fandom merged with an endeavour to restore 4chan’s claim to ownership of meme culture. On 4chan and Reddit, a self-made mythology canonises forums as the true and “original” internet. One “anonymous white nationalist” <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/05/26/how-pepe-the-frog-became-a-nazi-trump-supporter-and-alt-right-symbol.html">said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[Pepe the Frog] belongs to us, and we’ll make him toxic if we have to. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Pepe the Frog is a character adapted from comic artist Matt Furie. In the late 2000s, Pepe expanded beyond 4chan and Reddit, and became a widely used online avatar for <a href="http://www.vice.com/read/feels-good-man-728">emotional reaction</a>.</p>
<p>In reaction to Pepe’s status as a “mainstream” meme, the alt-right “mixed Pepe in with Nazi propaganda” to build an association between Pepe and white supremacy.</p>
<p>The alt-right <a href="https://inews.co.uk/opinion/columnists/who-is-pepe-the-cartoon-frog-hillary-clinton-is-accusing-of-racism">spread neo-Nazi Pepes to Twitter</a>, and began integrating Trump imagery with the revamped meme. In October 2015, Trump quoted this in a tweet:</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"653856168402681856"}"></div></p>
<p>Trump’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/09/26/these-charts-show-exactly-how-racist-and-radical-the-alt-right-has-gotten-this-year">continual retweeting</a> of alt-right tweets “propelled the movement into the limelight”. Trump and his campaign team retweeted many memes made by the alt-right, using Trump’s vast social media platform to amplify their voices. </p>
<p>Yet Trump never once made memes of his own. Instead, he acknowledged the support without overtly co-opting memes. Unlike Clinton, he did not give a subculture a corporate, establishment sheen by appropriating the form.</p>
<p>When, later, Clinton’s campaign <a href="https://www.hillaryclinton.com/post/donald-trump-pepe-the-frog-and-white-supremacists-an-explainer">condemned Pepe as a hate symbol</a>, she solidified the link between Pepe and white supremacy, effectively postering her infamous “basket of deplorables” with images of a xenophobic frog. </p>
<p>Clinton engaged with the memetic idea of Pepe rather than the political narrative of reclamation that Pepe represented. Trump spoke loudly and endlessly to this desire to reclaim that which had been taken – whether this was jobs, racial and gendered power, or memes.</p>
<p>Ultimately, Trump succeeded because he used the political language of the alt-right without explicitly mentioning them. He heard their ideas and, instead of exploiting their means of communication, implemented their politics. </p>
<p>Tellingly, one week after the election, Trump <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/steve-bannon-will-lead-trumps-white-house?">appointed Steve Bannon</a>, the former executive charmain of the far-right news site, Breitbart News, as his head strategist and senior counsellor. This further solidifies his ties to the alt-right movement. </p>
<p>Trump did not speak to voters with memetic language – nor indeed, with a language of consensus politics. Trump’s success derived from his seemingly warts-and-all authenticity. Clinton tried to tell it like it she thought it could or should be. Trump told it like many thought it was. And he won.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68580/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If news pundits had been paying closer attention to memes, they may have been less shocked by the result of the 2016 US presidential election.Rodney Taveira, Lecturer in American Studies, University of SydneyEmma Balfour, Honours Student, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/683942016-11-08T15:09:26Z2016-11-08T15:09:26Z4chan raids: how one dark corner of the internet is spreading its shadows<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/145049/original/image-20161108-16733-1fumztd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The internet is full of dark places. There are websites where people gather to share illegal images, buy illicit drugs and air offensive opinions that wouldn’t be tolerated on most mainstream sites. But just as the memes and jokes that originate on forums such as 4chan spread to the wider internet, the hatred expressed there doesn’t stay put either.</p>
<p>4chan’s Politically Incorrect or “/pol/” board, in particular, has become a home for the <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/4/18/11434098/alt-right-explained">so-called alt-right</a> brand of white nationalism. It was a <a href="https://mic.com/articles/157545/how-4chan-a-small-anime-forum-became-donald-trump-s-most-rabid-fanbase">central part</a> of the online support for Donald Trump in the US election. But it is also a place where users organise campaigns of abuse and trolling on other websites.</p>
<p>While 4chan is increasingly reported on by <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/15/arts/music/the-rise-of-the-internet-fan-bully.html">mainstream media</a>, we know little about how it actually operates and how instrumental it is in spreading hate on other social platforms. That’s why my colleagues and I <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1610.03452.pdf">decided to study</a> /pol/ – analysing 8m posts posted since June 20, 2016 – in an attempt to measure some of the impact it’s having on the rest of the internet.</p>
<p>4chan is an imageboard site, built around a typical bulletin-board model where users post images related to each board’s specific theme and other users can reply with comments or more images. Two of 4chan’s most important aspects are anonymity (users don’t have a public profile) and ephemerality (inactive threads are routinely deleted).</p>
<p>4chan currently features 69 boards, split into seven high level categories, including Japanese Culture and Adult. The <a href="http://boards.4chan.org/pol/thread/40489590">declared purpose</a> of the Politically Incorrect board is for “discussion of news, world events, political issues, and other related topics”. But there are, arguably, two main characteristics of /pol/ threads. One is its aggressive and racist tone, and use of offensive and derogatory language. This characterises its links to the alt-right movement, which rejects mainstream conservatism as well as immigration, multiculturalism and political correctness.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/145047/original/image-20161108-16702-130fbel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/145047/original/image-20161108-16702-130fbel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145047/original/image-20161108-16702-130fbel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145047/original/image-20161108-16702-130fbel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145047/original/image-20161108-16702-130fbel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145047/original/image-20161108-16702-130fbel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145047/original/image-20161108-16702-130fbel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pepe the Frog.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pepedankmeems420blazeitohbabyatripledankaestheticafkeepit100.jpg">Lwilson262/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The other interesting characteristic is the substantial amount of original content and online culture it generates. Most notably it turned the minor comic book character “<a href="http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21707201-how-donald-trump-ushered-hateful-fringe-movement-mainstream-pepe-and">Pepe the Frog</a>” into a meme and symbol for the alt-right.</p>
<p>Another important aspect of /pol/ is its reputation for coordinating and organising so-called raids on other social media platforms. Raids are somewhat similar to <a href="Distributed%20Denial%20of%20Service%20(DDoS)%20Attack">distributed denial of service (DDoS)</a> attacks used by hackers to bring down websites. But rather than aiming to interrupt the service at a network level, they attempt to disrupt a site’s community by actively harassing users or taking over the conversation.</p>
<p>In summer 2016, /pol/ users launched “<a href="http://boingboing.net/2016/09/23/racist-trolls-now-using-goog.html">Operation Google</a>” in response to the search engine’s <a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/09/inside-googles-internet-justice-league-ai-powered-war-trolls/">introduction of anti-trolling</a> technology to push sites with offensive language further down its page listings. Users began replacing hate words with the names of large tech companies, for example using “Google” and “Skype” to replace racist words for black and Jewish people. <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1610.03452.pdf">Our study</a> showed that Operation Google had a substantial impact on /pol/ and is still somewhat in effect. But its effect beyond 4chan itself was actually quite limited and less prevalent than was <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/internet/2016/09/stinking-googles-should-be-killed-why-4chan-using-search-engine-racist">reported at the time</a>.</p>
<p>We then explored raiding behaviour on other social media platforms. Abusive language seem to be such a fundamental part of /pol/ that its users presumably feel able to disconnect from the insults directed at them. But cyber-bullying is a genuine problem that can lead to <a href="http://www.meganmeierfoundation.org/cyberbullying-social-media.html">depression, self-harm, and even suicide</a>. So we can’t ignore cases where 4chan’s hate-filled vitriol spreads onto other websites such as YouTube.</p>
<p>We found evidence that certain YouTube videos experienced a peak in commenting activity when they were were linked to on /pol/. What’s more, we found that if the comments were posted shortly after the link first appeared on /pol/, they were more likely to include hate words. In other words, there is statistically significant evidence that /pol/ users are attacking YouTube users through its comments.</p>
<h2>Staying fresh</h2>
<p>Our research analysis also provides an explanation of how some of the key features of 4chan (such as ephemerality and anonymity) influence content and behaviour of the board. For instance, the “bump limit” system ensures that certain threads do not monopolise the conversation, ensuring fresh content is constantly generated. </p>
<p>4chan and /pol/ are continuously evolving. Over the past year, the site has been <a href="https://www.wired.com/2015/09/4chan-sold/">sold to the founder of a Japanese rival</a>, introduced <a href="http://blog.4chan.org/post/108414215167/new-requirement-for-4chan-volunteers-going-forward">very mild moderation</a> and is reportedly looking at new ways to monetise the site to deal with its <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/oct/04/4chan-website-financial-trouble-martin-shkreli">financial struggles</a>. The ephemeral nature of the boards naturally creates shifts in topics and activities, as well as users moving to other, somewhat similar sites such as 8chan.</p>
<p>But the increasingly organised activities of the board’s users and their ability to generate internet-changing content demonstrates the strength of its underlying influence. As the world increasingly looks at 4chan, 4chan will continue to look not so silently back.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68394/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emiliano De Cristofaro receives funding from the EU, EPSRC, the Royal Society, Xerox, and Google.</span></em></p>The Politically Incorrect forum is bringing its racist vitriol to a website near you.Emiliano De Cristofaro, Senior Lecturer in Security and Privacy (Computer Science), UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/321532014-09-25T06:32:29Z2014-09-25T06:32:29Z126,000 reasons why the Emma Watson hoax isn’t all bad news<p>In less than a week since actor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Watson">Emma Watson</a>’s stirring United Nations speech on gender inequality, two big things have happened – but you’ve probably only heard about one of them.</p>
<p>The first, which has driven days of global headlines, is that the 24-year-old actor (best known for her role in Harry Potter films) soon copped a backlash, including what appeared to be an online threat to publish naked photos of her. That’s now been shown to be a complicated hoax; more on that and what it has revealed shortly. </p>
<p>The other big thing that’s happened has received far less attention, but it’s much more heartening. </p>
<p>In only a few days, more than 126,000 men and boys have pledged their support for the new <a href="http://www.heforshe.org/">HeforShe campaign</a> to end gender inequality – beating <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HeForShe">the original target of 100,000 supporters</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60014/original/742jskrp-1411625733.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60014/original/742jskrp-1411625733.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60014/original/742jskrp-1411625733.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60014/original/742jskrp-1411625733.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60014/original/742jskrp-1411625733.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60014/original/742jskrp-1411625733.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60014/original/742jskrp-1411625733.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60014/original/742jskrp-1411625733.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The map of global #HeforShe supporters as of Thursday 25 September 2014, 4:15pm AEST.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">http://HeforShe.org/</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>You can see how many have signed up <a href="http://www.heforshe.org/">in your country on the site’s interactive map</a>. The campaign’s <a href="http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/09/24/celeb-feminists?cmpid=tp-twtr">male supporters</a> include fellow actors Matt Damon, Patrick Stewart, Russell Crowe and Keifer Sutherland, and now thousands more from around the world.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/p-iFl4qhBsE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Watson’s passionate and moving speech at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, above, has already been viewed more than 4 million times on YouTube. You can <a href="http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/9/emma-watson-gender-equality-is-your-issue-too">read it in full here</a>, but highlights include:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I started questioning gender-based assumptions when at eight I was confused at being called ‘bossy’, because I wanted to direct the plays we would put on for our parents—but the boys were not. When I was 14, I started being sexualised by certain elements of the press. When at 15, my girlfriends started dropping out of their sports teams because they didn’t want to appear ‘muscly’.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Not limiting the speech to gender difficulties faced by only women, Watson described how gender stereotypes hurt men and boys too:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’ve seen young men suffering from mental illness unable to ask for help for fear it would make them look less ‘macho’. In fact, in the UK suicide is the biggest killer of men between 20-49; eclipsing road accidents, cancer and coronary heart disease. I’ve seen men made fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of what constitutes male success. Men don’t have the benefits of equality either.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Watson’s speech won a standing ovation inside the UN and even greater applause beyond. But it wasn’t long before her strong stand on gender equality triggered a backlash.</p>
<h2>A double hoax</h2>
<p>Only a day after her speech, a mysterious website and a blog’s “news” story speculated that a hacker was about to publish naked photographs of Watson, just as happened recently to stars including <a href="http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/jennifer-lawrence-nude-photos-leaked-hacker-posts-explicit-pics/story-fn907478-1227043406704">Jennifer Lawrence</a>.</p>
<p>That sparked a media frenzy. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59986/original/cnnbzdpf-1411617867.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59986/original/cnnbzdpf-1411617867.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59986/original/cnnbzdpf-1411617867.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59986/original/cnnbzdpf-1411617867.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59986/original/cnnbzdpf-1411617867.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59986/original/cnnbzdpf-1411617867.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59986/original/cnnbzdpf-1411617867.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59986/original/cnnbzdpf-1411617867.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A hoax “news story”, now removed from the internet, which sparked the global controversy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">via Business Insider</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The world watched as the website www.emmayouarenext.com counted down the hours to when purportedly private photos would be released. Just as disturbing as the website itself were many of the comments about it, including “That feminist bitch Emma is going to show the world she is as much of a whore as any woman”, and “She makes stupid feminist speeches at UN, and now her nudes will be online, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH”.</p>
<p>Instead of talking about the content of her speech, social media was ablaze with outrage at hackers, particularly the image-based website <a href="http://www.4chan.org/">4chan</a>, which appeared to be linked to the Watson attack site.</p>
<p>Finally, on Wednesday September 24, the countdown was supposedly over – but there were no naked photos. Instead, users were directed to rantic.com, a webpage claiming to be devoted to shutting down 4Chan, complete with a petition to US President Barack Obama.</p>
<p>And as if it couldn’t get any weirder, it now appears that even that “advertising company” rantic.com is <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com.au/emma-watson-naked-photo-countdown-hoax-2014-9">actually a fake</a>, and the whole thing is the work of a group of serial internet hoaxers known as <a href="http://www.dailydot.com/entertainment/emma-watson-nude-countdown-socialvevo-4chan/">socialVEVO</a>.</p>
<p>So what have we learnt from this elaborate hoax, which duped millions of people including many in the global news media?</p>
<h2>Easy targets</h2>
<p>Why was it so easy to believe that anonymous, angry internet “trolls” would immediately recoil at Emma’s suggestion of gender equality, and attack her privacy by publishing naked photos? (If any actually exist, that is.)</p>
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<p>Unfortunately, it was easy to believe because too often women <em>are</em> victimised online, particularly in sexualised ways, and particularly when they take a stand on gender equality as Watson did.</p>
<p>It is ironic that in her speech, Watson declared:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think it is right that I should be able to make decisions about my own body.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is the exact sentiment that was threatened. The fact that this threat was just a hoax – the motives for which are still unclear – does not excuse the manipulation used to generate this attention. </p>
<p>Whether intended or not, the message to women that’s been reinforced over the past few days have been all too clear: speak out and you will be targeted. </p>
<p>And even if the website was a fake, the public response to it – which included vicious and perverse comments about Watson being a whore – were sadly all too real.</p>
<p>But if there is one glimmer of good news out of all this, it’s that the extra attention garnered by the controversy has driven more people – particularly men and boys – to back the <a href="http://www.heforshe.org/">HeforShe campaign</a>, on its website and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/heforshe">on social media</a>. These are just some of the thousands so far.</p>
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<p>But amid so much focus on nude photos and hoaxes, we shouldn’t forget what Watson’s speech was all about: gender inequality.</p>
<p>Too many men and women around the world still live with emotional and social restrictions because of gender stereotypes – and that has to end. </p>
<p>The last word should go to Watson, who answered her critics and her own self-doubts in her speech.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You might be thinking who is this Harry Potter girl? And what is she doing up on stage at the UN? It’s a good question and trust me, I have been asking myself the same thing. I don’t know if I am qualified to be here. All I know is that I care about this problem. And I want to make it better … English Statesman Edmund Burke said: ‘All that is needed for the forces of evil to triumph is for enough good men and women to do nothing.’ In my nervousness for this speech and in my moments of doubt I’ve told myself firmly — if not me, who? If not now, when?</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32153/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Evita March does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In less than a week since actor Emma Watson’s stirring United Nations speech on gender inequality, two big things have happened – but you’ve probably only heard about one of them. The first, which has…Evita March, Lecturer of Psychology, Federation University AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/311502014-09-01T18:04:47Z2014-09-01T18:04:47ZCelebrities, nudity and other ways 4chan drives the internet hype machine<p>The powerhouse of internet virality, 4chan, has achieved notoriety, and in a spectacular way. The release of hundreds of images claiming to show a pantheon of celebrities in various compromising, or at least awkward, positions has brought the many other social media channels alive with the <a href="http://mashable.com/2014/08/31/social-media-goes-wild-over-celebrity-nude-photo-leak/">sniff of salacious gossip</a>. </p>
<p>Consequently, as mainstream media must so often do in the era of internet and citizen journalism, the newspapers are <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/jennifer-lawrence-nude-photos-leaked-4142129">buzzing</a> with a mixture of horror at the invasion of privacy and the hint of seeing something far more revealing from a famous person than plunging cleavage. </p>
<p>The complex circumstances that have come together to make this incident combine all the extremes of social media, mainstream reporting, get-rich-quick schemes, gullibility, celebrity obsession and net-trolling. The Mirror asked how 4chan could have <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/jennifer-lawrence-nude-photos-leaked-4142527">obtained the images</a>. The straightforward answer is that a hacker put the images on 4chan. More uncertain is how the hacker could obtain the images.</p>
<p>As worrying as the scale of this hack may sound, many of the stars involved <a href="http://gawker.com/internet-explodes-over-j-laws-alleged-hacked-nudes-1629093854">claimed the images were fake</a>. But to add confusion there are also claims that the PR people for Jennifer Lawrence have acknowledged the images as being of her and Mary Winstead recognised through Twitter that the photos tagged with her name were <a href="http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/926443-kate-upton-jennifer-lawrence-ariana-grande-pictures-alleged-hack-leaves-graphic-photos-on-forum/">her own deleted images</a>. </p>
<p>But what can really be believed in all of this turmoil is difficult to determine. With such a media storm being generated there are opportunities for many to benefit. For the hacker there is a chance to sell some of the even more risqué material to media outlets by taking advantage of the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity/leaked-photos-of-naked-celebrities-including-jennifer-lawrence-20140901-10asiu.html">pseudo-anonymity of bitcoin exchanges</a>. </p>
<p>For traditional media reporting organisations there is the exciting hint of obtaining an exclusive. In the days of internet gossip for a traditional media to obtain an exclusive is almost equivalent to finding a golden egg. And gaining an exclusive could fall either way for these organisations too: identifying the hacker or how they managed the hack would nearly be as good as obtaining a new image or video. </p>
<p>Any regular followers of 4chan will not be surprised by the attention the site is currently receiving. It hosted the inception of ideas including <a href="http://gizmodo.com/the-best-and-worst-things-4chan-gave-the-world-1436402768">Lolcats, Rickrolling, Rage Comics and the Anonymous hackers group</a>. So many of the ideas that first emerged on 4chan have become part of what we all expect and “do” online. But equally the site has been accused of <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/what-4chan-look-dark-side-internet-1445644">encouraging online harassment and cyber-bullying</a>. </p>
<p>Being “cutting edge” without being offensive or abusive is a difficult balance. This is particularly acute for 4chan when it is neither a patrolled or commercial space. There are no advertisers to please or risk offending and the site avoids the greater levels of identity-checking that we all have come to expect from using more conventional social media sites. </p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, this means that 4chan is among the first choices for posting the controversial, the new or simply the quirky and ultimately this material could come from anyone. Many other more commercialised social media sites rely on this impetus of creativity, originality and controversy that their own ecosystems cannot provide and do not encourage.</p>
<p>In 2010 TheNextWeb identified the <a href="http://thenextweb.com/us/2010/07/28/5-lessons-new-media-could-learn-from-4chan/">five keys lessons to learn from 4chan</a>: “use original content”, “know your audience”, “acknowledge your source”, “don’t copycat” and “make them laugh”. The headline “Hundreds of unseen nude pictures of celebrities from an anonymous hacker”, works on at least four of these criteria. </p>
<p>The role played by 4chan on social media is important. For many the site will be unknown. For those who seek it out in the wake of this turmoil the experience will feel as if they are stepping back ten years. For the vast majority there is no need to do anything – 4chan will come to them through shared images and links on other more familiar sites. </p>
<p>In its current form, 4chan cannot be easily stopped. The quickest method to stymie this stream of humour, abuse, creativity and bullying would be to buy the site from its creator, Christopher Poole. He <a href="http://allthingsd.com/20131008/quote-you-know-whats-a-tiny-bit-cool/">declined to sell in 2005</a> and <a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/analysts-say-google-is-planning-to-acquire-4chan-not-really/#!bNVEe5">rumours of a sale to Google</a> in 2012 went nowhere. </p>
<p>If 4chan were to shift away from its current cutting-edge role it is certain that a similar site would rise to fill this niche. Without 4chan the internet would be a much duller place. While it is impossible to condone the “dark” activities generated through 4chan, without even knowing it we will all need 4chan for as long it provides us with the shareable content that allows us to be social online.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31150/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gordon Fletcher previously received funding from InnovateUK.</span></em></p>The powerhouse of internet virality, 4chan, has achieved notoriety, and in a spectacular way. The release of hundreds of images claiming to show a pantheon of celebrities in various compromising, or at…Gordon Fletcher, Centre for Digital Business, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.