In this podcast, Julia Abner discusses her research on the rise of extremist views in mainstream political dialogue and online subcultures. She shares her experiences infiltrating extremist groups and emphasizes the dangers they pose both online and offline. The episode also explores the transformation of the incels community and the influence of extremist movements on mainstream society, discussing their impact on democratic institutions and offering solutions to counter radicalization.
Read more
AI Summary
AI Chapters
Episode notes
auto_awesome
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
Extremist ideas are increasingly infiltrating mainstream political dialogue, posing a challenge to democratic institutions and eroding trust in democratic processes and institutions.
Understanding the motives and strategies driving individuals to join extremist groups is crucial in effectively countering extremist narratives and breaking through new identity lines formed by these groups.
Deep dives
Rise of Extremist Views in Mainstream Political Dialogue
In this podcast episode, the troubling trend of extremist views infiltrating mainstream political dialogue is discussed. The guest, Julia Abner, a researcher specializing in far-right extremism and terrorism prevention, explains how extremist ideas that were once confined to fringe subcultures have gradually leaked into the mainstream. This gradual shift towards mainstreaming is attributed to factors such as the rise of international networks, alternative media ecosystems, and the influence of online subcultures on mass street protests. Abner highlights the global dynamic of extremist ideas spreading and the challenge they pose to democratic institutions.
Researching Extremist Groups and Subcultures
Julia Abner discusses her research methods, which involve immersing herself in extremist communities to gain insights from the inside. She adopts fake identities and uses social media accounts to establish credibility within these groups. Abner provides examples of her undercover experiences, such as attending identitarian meetings and neo-Nazi festivals. While there are risks involved, such as online harassment campaigns and threats, she emphasizes the importance of understanding the underlying motives and strategies driving individuals to join extremist groups.
Extremist Subcultures and Their Influence
The podcast delves into the characteristics and beliefs of various online extremist subcultures. One particularly interesting subculture discussed is the incels, or involuntary celibates, community. Abner explains that while there are individuals prone to violence within this community, there is also a significant subset that struggles with self-hatred and is more prone to self-harm or suicide. She highlights the transformation of the incel community from a self-help forum to a toxic space filled with anti-feminist and misogynistic ideas. The influence of subcultures like incels on mainstream narratives and the adoption of their ideas by politicians and protests is explored.
Implications of Extremist Mainstreaming
The implications of extremist views becoming mainstream are discussed, particularly the erosion of trust in democratic processes and institutions. The rise of anti-democratic ideologies is highlighted, with surveys revealing a significant percentage of the population holding anti-democratic beliefs. The fear of increasing attacks on democratic institutions and the success of far-right populist movements in gaining political power are major concerns. The importance of addressing extremist narratives and countering them with emotional understanding rather than just facts is emphasized, along with the need to break through the new identity lines formed by extremist groups.
Accelerated by a pandemic, global conflict and rapid technological change, extremist ideas are becoming more widespread: QAnon proponents run for U.S. Congress, neo-fascists win elections in Europe and hyper-partisan commentators spread dangerous myths to millions online. Julia Ebner is a researcher specialising in far-right extremism, reciprocal radicalisation, conspiracy myths and terrorism prevention. Her new book is Going Mainstream: How Extremists Are Taking Over. She joins our host Carl Miller, Research Director of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at the think tank Demos, to talk about it.
We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be.
Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to podcasts@intelligencesquared.com or Tweet us @intelligence2.
And if you’d like to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, as well as ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared.
Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more.