Why is the far-right so dominant on the internet?

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Why is the far-right so dominant on the internet?

SaTaMaS: Apr 18, 2003

The far-left is also quite good at using the internet and social media to sway opinions, but we aren't allowed to criticize them in order to not alienate them. Anyway, I'm sure the Democratic party will eventually come together for the good of the country when it matters most. Any day now.

# ¿ Dec 18, 2016 20:46

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# ¿ May 14, 2024 05:23

SaTaMaS: Apr 18, 2003

Rushi posted:

I love that "someone might disagree with me on the internet and hurt my feelings and maybe even say something stupid to me" was too much of a mouthful so now people just say "we aren't allowed to criticize [the left]."

I can't decide on stormfront, free republic, or even the largest media organization "Fox News" as my sarcastic example of places where you "aren't allowed" to talk bad about the left.

Ever heard of a "Bernie Bro"? They tend to occupy social media threads and enjoy discussing primaries.

Edit: You know you can just make a new reply instead of just adding to the first one, right

SaTaMaS fucked around with this message at 22:16 on Dec 18, 2016

# ¿ Dec 18, 2016 21:06

SaTaMaS: Apr 18, 2003

Rushi posted:

I love that "someone might disagree with me on the internet and hurt my feelings and maybe even say something stupid to me" was too much of a mouthful so now people just say "we aren't allowed to criticize [the x]."

I can't decide on stormfront, free republic, or even the largest media organization "Fox News" as my sarcastic example of places where you "aren't allowed" to talk bad about the left. (And yes, there are tons of places for the left to trash whoever. There is no shortage of places to trash people on the internet.)

Edit: Sorry, as quoted below I said [the left], and did not edit it quickly enough to make my point that I think this idea that "x group" is not "allowing" people to post to me seems quite ridiculous, I'm not really one to agree with "Bernie Bros" but that does not mean they have any power whatsoever to "not allow" me to criticize them if I so felt like it. People disagreeing on private internet forums, including Facebook is not "not allowing" you to think anything. There are plenty of places to criticize the left as there are plenty to criticize the right, gays, blacks, straights, whites, whoever. And that plays into what I said about the point of the opening post. It's not just one group, everyone's splintered and putting each other into groups and then making claims that there freedom of thought is ruined by any-one-of-a-fuckton of internet media outlets (which is the secret cabal uprising one).

Congrats on being incredibly pedantic, but you're still missing the point. The left does have a group that's just as dominant on the internet. Yet the far right was able to translate their dominance into actual power. Could it possibly be because the far right used everything OP described to criticize their opposition and get people riled up to vote, while the far left used the same techniques to criticize their own party and get people discouraged enough to stay home?

# ¿ Dec 18, 2016 22:33

SaTaMaS: Apr 18, 2003

Party Plane Jones posted:

The difference between the two is being for something for the left (for LGBT rights, for greater access to healthcare, for expanded voting rights) while the right is against something (against LGBT rights, against regulations, against 'radical islamic terror', against immigration). It's easier to be an antithesis to something as the bar is much lower for success.

While true, I wouldn't say the actual issues played much of a role in this cynical shitfest of an election cycle

# ¿ Dec 18, 2016 23:34

SaTaMaS: Apr 18, 2003

Hollywood posted:

I can agree that it isn't very good. However, people have believed stupider, and any increase in volume of propaganda is going to shift the voter base somewhat. I am far more concerned that Russia's relatively unsophisticated hacking was so successful. Are people so daft that they have to ask if an e-mail asking you to change your password by clicking a link is real? This is 2016, that's not particularly excusable.

Israel has done exceedingly well in propaganda, of that there is no doubt. But they already had a base of support here, so of course it worked. If they were REALLY good at propaganda, then their neighbors would support them just as much as the US and Europe does. Which comes back around to the predisposition to listen to propaganda that converts weakly held suspicions into strongly held beliefs. That's where it really matters. Suspicious of Hillary Clinton? Well, this news story from a seemingly real website about her killing puppies with her bare hands may just put you over the edge.

What are you talking about? Russia convinced millions of people that Evil Clinton stole the election from Saint Bernie, while Israel can barely get Obama to pay any attention to them.

# ¿ Dec 21, 2016 01:32

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Why is the far-right so dominant on the internet?