this post was submitted on 11 May 2024
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I know most people that were on reddit at the time are fully aware of this and won't be surprised but don't dismiss the findings out of hand. It's important that studies are being conducted and the fact that the finding match our lived experience is still noteworthy.

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[–] glimse 206 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

To all the people rushing to sarcastically comment how surprised they are: Yes, we all saw it happen. But..

It's important that studies are being conducted and the fact that the finding match our lived experience is still noteworthy.

This is why OP posted it. Science isn't feelings, you need data.

[–] DreamlandLividity 29 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Science is feelings

Typo? 🤣

[–] glimse 25 points 7 months ago
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[–] [email protected] 88 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Literally everyone on Reddit could see this except spez, who is a greedy little pigboy

[–] [email protected] 59 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Oh he could see it too and didn't care because he's a self proclaimed libertarian.

[–] Eldritch 19 points 7 months ago (2 children)

What's a right wing libertarian other than a fascist so selfish they aren't concerned or swayed by ideas of nationalism or "heritage". But they'll happily enable and march with the ones who are. When their self interest aligns. They just want to be the ones on top.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 7 months ago (1 children)

They’re mostly just conservatives who like drugs.

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[–] PoliticalAgitator 16 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Extremists are engagement.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (4 children)

I really wonder if the nouveau rich tech startup boys look around and realize that their greed is directly responsible for the 2016 election and by extension, the state of US domestic politics today, and feel even a tiny bit of guilt over it.

Probably not.

[–] PoliticalAgitator 8 points 7 months ago

I don't think that's how they're wired. If anything, they'd be excited to learn they're a couple of million dollars of AI astroturfing from being able to choose the president.

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[–] BonesOfTheMoon 64 points 7 months ago (4 children)

Remember when they lifted the no racism rule? I do.

[–] FlyingSquid 27 points 7 months ago

Yes. And I really should have left Reddit then and never looked back.

[–] Iceman 13 points 7 months ago

It was a hilarious mask of movement. They did it to "own" /r/Sweden in the subwars and obviously got their asses handed to them.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 7 months ago (1 children)
[–] BonesOfTheMoon 10 points 7 months ago

The Donald.

[–] [email protected] 47 points 7 months ago

While it certainly is a bit of a captain obvious moment that exposure to far-right echo chambers helped radicalise vulnerable people into the far-right, but I can see the merit in having empirical evidence supporting what we see (as OP said) - it is a lot easier to dismiss an andecdote than statistical evidence

[–] [email protected] 42 points 7 months ago (2 children)

To add on to the people pointing out that science is data:

Yes, it is incredibly obvious that the turmp fanclub subreddit would radicalize people to become white nationalists.

What is not obvious is that this is happening everywhere. And, if you get a hold of one of the "leaked" white supremacist recruiting guides from the 80s and 90s, that is by design.

South Park Libertarians and all but it really is telling how many people, to this day, insist that the f-slur for gay people is really "Oh, we took that back. it means obnoxious motorcycle drivers". Let alone statements like "har har, you are so butthurt" that (regardless of what urban dictionary says) are on the same level as "ha ha, you are gay"

We see it every day. And it makes communities hostile. And if you call it out, you get driven out. Which means there are fewer people around to say "... what the fuck? How can we think this is acceptable?". And then someone whose entire vocabulary is "lolzors go woke go broke pepe pepe" gets rightfully made fun of elsewhere and now they are a victim and all those "for the lolz" become their identity.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil 8 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Yes, it is incredibly obvious that the turmp fanclub subreddit would radicalize people to become white nationalists.

They're polarizing and definitely hateful.

But as the volume got cranked higher and higher, I think it encouraged more silent disgust than popular approval.

You just couldn't see it under all the pro-Trump spam.

And then someone whose entire vocabulary is “lolzors go woke go broke pepe pepe” gets rightfully made fun of elsewhere and now they are a victim and all those “for the lolz” become their identity.

The online Shoot And Cry strategy. Always be the victim.

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[–] waddle_dee 37 points 7 months ago (4 children)

insert shocked pikachu here I mean, is this really surprising? That place was a cesspool disguising as irony. But news flash, it stops being ironic after a certain amount of time.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Who was that other dude? Think idubbz interviewed him.

Was doing the same thing trying to hide behind layer of “meta irony” or whatever water muddying bullshit they wanted to call it.

People who shoot crooked just don’t need to be trusted period

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 24 points 7 months ago (2 children)

It’s not about how expected this was. It’s about the fact that we have data to prove it, and it is definitely a probable phenomenon.

Incidentally, I’d be fascinated to see the data the alphabet agencies have doubtlessly gathered on what major players on /r/TheDonald are affiliated with foreign agents (primarily Russia, though China and Israel absolutely had a hand in it too), or just straight up foreign agents themselves. I hear they’re going to release a big report about that on February 31st.

[–] Pretzilla 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Agreed, it's such a dereliction of duty to not report on this.

As well as letting all the kompromized 4th of July legislators, et. al., and one former commander in chief in particular continue their treasonous subversion.

We are heading right off the rails.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

I mean… it’s basically one entire party.

Remember when they popped the DNC’s email server and released stuff tactically at just the right moments to have the most damaging effect on Hillary?

It’s kind of an open secret that they popped the RNC’s email server too… and then didn’t release anything. Ockham’s razor might suggest there wasn’t anything there, but if you believe that, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn I’ve been looking to sell. FancyBear/FSB/Russian Mafia/whoever is kinda obviously blackmailing like at least half of the Congressional Republican caucus, as evidenced by the entirely astroturfed opposition to Ukrainian military aid and extremely peculiar Russophilia.

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[–] Serinus 19 points 7 months ago

disguising as irony.

About this. It was legitimately funny at first, when the Orange One had no chance.

The thing that turned it so fast from absolute satire into not at all satire was the immediate, within seconds, banning of anyone who called it out as a joke. The speed of those bans convinced me that someone was being paid to steer the narrative in their desired direction 24/7.

It was a masterclass in modern propaganda, and I'm glad it's being studied.

I learned personal lessons from it. I'm absolutely more PC now, because you never know who's going to take your absurd joke seriously. As Waddle said, if you say something ironically enough, it stops being ironic.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 7 months ago

This won't make Spez any more uncomfortable when he wants to sleep at night. According to him, that subreddit was "valuable discussion".

[–] Linkerbaan 18 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

One cannot be an active thedonald user without already being a white nationalist.

Any dissent gets an instant permaban.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Any dissent gets an instant permaban.

So just like r/conservative? I only commented there once and was instantly permabanned. It was a while ago. Deinately before Trump was president, maybe 2015. Maybe earlier.

I kinda watched the political climate change drastically since 2015. Statring form Trumps presidency to spreading all over America, Europe and the world. And I wonder where this came from in such masses. Russian efforts and paid propagandists? They can't be THAT powerful, can they? It is insane and it spreads everywhere. Into every corner of the world. I don't understand it. People seem to want authoritarian leadership. Have they all lost their minds?

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[–] lennybird 17 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

If you ever want to observe or engage (be ready for the pile-up) with these same folks, r/ShitPoliticsSays contains the exact same user-base of extremists. These are dyed-in-the-wool folks because they use this as a launching-point for brigading other subs comment threads. Lots of Canadian righties there, too. The only credit I'll give is unlike r/conservative that they never censored so you could pretty much discuss and test argumentative points to your heart's content.

Just read the thread covering this very article about T_D lol

Of course I still think a sizable chunk of these folks operate in discord channels and astroturfed Sanders subs (especially the 2020 election), ChapoTrapHouse, etc.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago (3 children)

No. Fucking. Shit.

Any and I do mean, any conservative based subreddit all now function the same. r/conservatives have turned into a shithole. Hell, even TrueUnpopularOpinion has turned into it's own shithole because it's just a foundation for right-wingers to express their radicalized thought processes for all to see.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)
[–] [email protected] 23 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, I've always described r/Conservative as The_Donald dressed up in their dad's suit and tie. But once The_Donald was finally banned (after they already left for their own website - thanks for nothing spez) r/Conservative dropped all pretenses.

[–] MapleEngineer 12 points 7 months ago

R/republican was a right wing echo bunker, too. I got banned for pointing out that the letter in the "article" that someone posted that claimed that the DOJ had found massive voter fraud in Georgia and asking the state to reject Biden's win was actually written by a Trumpist shill and contradicted the Republican AG, the DOJ, the Republican Governor, the Republican Secretary of State, and Republican election officials.

I asked them a couple of times when major events in the prosecution of John Eastman occurred if they would reconsider. They blocked me for 30 days each time. When he was finally disbarred I asked again and they told me that if I didn't stop asking they would report me to the admins.

Delicate little snowflakes in their echo bunker.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 7 months ago (2 children)

r/unpopularopinion was a shithole. Any sub called "realXYZ" "QRS2" or "TrueABC" is just the "free speech" version started by someone pissed that they got banned for using slurs, so I'm not surprised r/TrueUnpopularOpinion went to shit. I'm surprised you think it was decent at any point tbh.

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[–] Daft_ish 10 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

My story from the donald is I got banned for saying, "Donald will have more than 2 terms." Or something like that.

Now Republicans don't think they should ever lose elections.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I don't know what they mean. I hung about in there for three years and I never picked up any white nationalist vocabulary.

This article sounds like (((globalist))) propaganda to me!

Edit: Incidentally, I was perma-banned from reddit for making a similar joke there.

[–] seaQueue 9 points 7 months ago
[–] Feathercrown 8 points 7 months ago

Weak, all of them

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