Hacker News with Generative AI: Extremism

Memes are a key tool for extremist communities and conspiracy theories (elpais.com)
Memes are not just a simple game of images and text, with more or less irony or grace. According to the Institute for Digital Safety and Behaviour (IDSB) of the University of Bath in the UK, they are the main “internet language for communicating narratives in simple, shareable formats,” “cultural representations” that unite and involve groups. But this popular communication tool is not harmless.
Social Media, Conspiracy Theories, Extremism, Communication, Culture
13 points by geox 3 days ago | 6 comments
MI5 lied to courts to protect violent neo-Nazi spy (bbc.com)
MI5 lied to three courts while defending its handling of a misogynistic neo-Nazi state agent who attacked his girlfriend with a machete, the BBC can reveal.
Government Surveillance, Law Enforcement, Politics, Extremism, Domestic Terrorism
10 points by croes 24 days ago | 2 comments
A dose of MDMA transformed a white supremacist (bbc.com)
Brendan was once a leader in the US white nationalist movement. But when he took the drug MDMA in a scientific study, it would radically change his extremist beliefs – to the surprise of everyone involved. Rachel Nuwer investigates what happened.
Drugs, Psychology, Extremism, Social Change
44 points by fzliu 43 days ago | 13 comments
A mole infiltrated the highest ranks of American militias (propublica.org)
Outraged by the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, a wilderness survival trainer spent years undercover climbing the ranks of right-wing militias.
Politics, Extremism, Investigations, Journalism, Military
454 points by colinprince 64 days ago | 312 comments
Alleged CEO Shooter Luigi Mangione Was Radicalized by Pain (shatterzone.substack.com)
I’ve spent much of the last ten years reading manifestos and being a fly on the wall in different little online boltholes where extremists plan and seek to incite mass shootings. When Luigi Mangione, the suspected shooter of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was arrested at a McDonald’s, it didn’t take long for digital sleuths to put together a comprehensive record of his online activity.
Crime, Extremism, Online Activity, Mass Shootings
10 points by matthewsinclair 88 days ago | 8 comments
Subscriptions Drive Views of Extremist Videos on YouTube (home.dartmouth.edu)
Study shows viewership of harmful content concentrated among a small group of users.
YouTube, Extremism, Social Media, Content Moderation, Research
16 points by alephnerd 125 days ago | 13 comments
Facebook Auto-Generating Militia Pages as Extremists Organize in Plain Sight (wired.com)
Ahead of the election, anti-government militias are using Facebook to recruit, coordinate training, and promote ballot box stakeouts. Meta isn’t shutting their groups down and is even auto-generating pages.
Social Media, Politics, Extremism, Facebook
30 points by tobr 129 days ago | 7 comments
Facebook Is Auto-Generating Militia Group Pages as Extremists Organize (wired.com)
Ahead of the election, anti-government militias are using Facebook to recruit, coordinate training, and promote ballot box stakeouts. Meta isn’t shutting their groups down and is even auto-generating pages.
Social Media, Politics, Extremism, Facebook, Election
17 points by ttyprintk 131 days ago | 6 comments
Telegram Became a Playground for Criminals, Extremists and Terrorists (nytimes.com)
Telegram, Crime, Extremism, Terrorism
8 points by aguaviva 182 days ago | 3 comments
He Was an FBI Informant–and Inspired a Generation of Violent Extremists (wired.com)
FBI, Extremism, Terrorism, Law Enforcement, Information
5 points by Teever 219 days ago | 5 comments
Canada's extremist attack on free speech (theatlantic.com)
Canada, Free Speech, Politics, Extremism
73 points by duringmath 270 days ago | 64 comments
Extremist Militias Are Coordinating in More Than 100 Facebook Groups (wired.com)
Social Media, Extremism, Facebook, Militias, News
42 points by laurex 310 days ago | 81 comments