Alt-right

[[File:Alt-right Science March Poster.png|thumb|right|165px|There are two, and only two, scientific definitions of "alt-right".]]
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{{nazism}}{{Bronze}}
{{cquote|Well, tough luck, [[Homophobia|fags]]. The alt-right is just a [[euphemism]] for [[Nazism]].|||''[[The Daily Stormer]]'', actual Nazi website<ref name="TDSrrhomos">[http://archive.ph/b7HrT#selection-987.0-987.147 The Rise of Right-Wing Homos] by Zeiger (July 23, 2016) ''The Daily Stormer'' (archived from 23 Jul 2016 10:55:33 UTC).</ref>}}
{{cquote|By all means, compare these shitheads to the Nazis. Again and again. I'm with you.|||Mike Godwin of [[Godwin's Law]] fame, referring to the Unite the Right rally<ref name=indy2017>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170814002835/https://twitter.com/sfmnemonic/status/896884949634232320 By all means, compare these shitheads to Nazis. Again and again. I'm with you.] by Mike Godwin‏ (5:03 PM - 13 Aug 2017) ''Twitter'' (archived from August 14, 2017).</ref>}}

The '''alt-right''' (short for '''alternative right''') is a [[far-right]] movement that opposes [[tolerance]], [[humanism]], [[multiculturalism]], and [[social justice]] (items they file under "[[Cultural Marxism]]," "[[woke]]," and "[[SJW]]").<ref name="Atkinson2018"/> Their [[racist]] ideology, including [[Social Darwinism]], [[eugenics]], and [[ecofascism]], is rooted in the ideology of {{wpl|Progressive Era}} white supremacists (and [[birth control]] activists) [[Madison Grant]] and {{wpl|Lothrop Stoddard||,}}<ref>{{cite web | last=Adler-Bell | first=Sam | title=Why White Supremacists Are Hooked on Green Living | website=The New Republic | date=2019-09-24 | url=https://newrepublic.com/article/154971/rise-ecofascism-history-white-nationalism-environmental-preservation-immigration | access-date=2026-01-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Cagle | first=Susie | title='Bees, not refugees': the environmentalist roots of anti-immigrant bigotry | website=The Guardian | date=2019-08-16 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/15/anti | access-date=2026-01-14}}</ref> who their hate-ridden websites frequently extol.<ref>{{cite web | title=Stoddard, T. Lothrop | website=Encyclopedia.com | date=2026-01-06 | url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/stoddard-t-lothrop | ref={{sfnref|Encyclopedia.com|2026}} | access-date=2026-01-14}}</ref>

The movement is largely internet-based, made up of selfish, black-hearted, frustrated late-blooming teens-to-twenty-somethings, and is the merger of traditional [[white nationalist]]s, [[neo-Nazis]], right-libertarians, and [[neo-Confederate]]s overlapping the [[neoreactionary movement]], [[Gamergate]], and the [[manosphere]]. The alt-right consensus of the day generally rests at the juncture of those three groups. The term originated with [[Richard Spencer]]'s [[white nationalist]] magazine/blog ''[[Alternative Right]]'', nicknamed "AltRight".

The alt-right wholeheartedly embraces the overt [[racism]], [[antisemitism]], [[misogyny]], and [[homophobia]] typical of neo-Nazi affectations — in [[Twitter]]-paced combination with the shitposting, [[bullying]], [[doxxing]], and [[trolling]] of [[4chan]]/[[8chan]] culture as a lifestyle. You'll find them on [[/pol/]], ''[[The Daily Stormer]]'', My Posting Career, [[Gab]], Voat, [[The Right Stuff]], [[Twitter]], and (most notably) in every unmoderated comment field on any decent website where wholesome and inclusive news reports may go otherwise unprotested.

The frothing vanguard of manufactured outrage, executive producers, ''and'' core demographic of [[fake news]]-driven [[Manufactroversy|social media hysteria]], perpetually in search of today's new bar for "[[Alt-right glossary#Edgy|edgy]]", they're also the ones who popularized "[[Alt-right glossary#Cuckservative|cuckservative]]" as a term of abuse for anyone on the right that they consider ''not racist enough''.

Whether they are primarily neoreactionaries who are into white nationalism, or white nationalists dressing their ideas up with neoreactionary jargon, is probably a [[Phantom distinction|distinction without a difference]]. The term "alt-right" has come more generally to signify "[[Donald Trump|Trump]] supporters who think [[swastika]]s are good". In this context, it's just a [[dog whistle|hip alias]] for "white supremacists" — with all the extra [[PR]]-savvy granted by its [[FUD|plausible deniability]] for [[Motte and bailey|when the need arises]]. 

The ''Associated Press'' recommends:<ref>{{cite web | last=Meir | first=Nicole | title=Writing about the 'alt-right' | website=The Associated Press | date=2024-11-22 | url=https://www.ap.org/the-definitive-source/behind-the-news/writing-about-the-alt-right/ | access-date=2026-01-14}}</ref>
{{cquote|Whenever ''"alt-right"'' is used in a story, be sure to include a definition: ''"an offshoot of conservatism mixing racism, white nationalism and [[populism]],"'' or, more simply, ''"a white nationalist movement."'' Avoid using the term generically and without definition, however, because it is not well known and the term may exist primarily as a public-relations device to make its supporters’ actual beliefs less clear and more acceptable to a broader audience. In the past we have called such beliefs racist, neo-Nazi or white supremacist.}}
 
==Origins==
{{cquote|The alt-right began with a speech the conservative writer Paul Gottfried gave in 2008, after the [[Republican Party]]'s electoral wipeout. […] But it was Donald Trump's presidential campaign that brought the movement into the mainstream".|||The ''[[Washington Post]]''<ref>Wiegel, David; Wagner, John (August 23, 2016). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/08/23/clinton-plans-thursday-address-in-nevada-on-trump-and-the-alt-right/ "Clinton plans Thursday address in Nevada on Trump and the 'alt-right'"]. ''[[Washington Post]]''.</ref>}}

The press has been calling it an online phenomenon, even though some factions pre-date the internet. [[4chan]] and vloggers are the online element, with others having one foot in the real world and the other online. You can trace it back to father's rights and [[Men's movement|mythopoetics]] in the 1980s,<ref>Blake, Mariah, [https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/01/warren-farrell-mens-rights-movement-feminism-misogyny-trolls/ "Mad Men: Inside the Men’s Rights Movement—and the Army of Misogynists and Trolls It Spawned"], ''Mother Jones'' January/February 2015.</ref><ref>Futrelle, David, [http://www.wehuntedthemammoth.com/2013/05/03/putting-warren-farrells-notorious-comments-on-exciting-date-rape-in-context/comment-page-6/ "Warren Farrell’s notorious comments on date rape: Not any more defensible in context than out of it"], We Hunted the Mammoth 3 May 2013.</ref><ref>Lorentzen, Christian, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160609051134/http://nymag.com/betamale/2016/06/how-poet-robert-bly-started-the-drum-thumping-mens-movement-of-the-90s.html "How Poet Robert Bly Unleashed ‘Iron John’ and Started the Drum-Thumping Men's Movement of the '90s"], NY Mag (8 June 2016, 11:00 am).</ref> which had some crossover with [[Christian Identity]]/[[Quiverfull]] in the 1990s.<ref>Risen, James, [http://articles.latimes.com/1997/oct/05/news/mn-39657 "Christian Men Hold Huge Rally on D.C. Mall"], NYT 5 October 1997.</ref><ref>Anderson, Dianna, [https://rewire.news/article/2014/09/30/mras-jesus-look-inside-christian-manosphere/ "MRAs for Jesus: A Look Inside the Christian ‘Manosphere’"], Rewire (30 September 2014, 5:26pm).</ref> Over time, it became more myopic and selfish, with [[Men's Rights]], Ladder Theory, [[PUA]], and the [[Red pill|Red Pill]].<ref>Laudsbaum, Claire, [https://www.thecut.com/2016/12/mens-rights-activists-are-flocking-to-the-alt-right.html "Men's-Rights Activists Are Finding a New Home With the Alt-Right"], The Cut (14 December 2016, 11:30 AM).</ref> [[Gamergate]] was the debutante ball for much of the reaction, which had been building but had no central ladder.<ref>Romano, Aja, [https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/roosh-launches-new-site-reaxxion-for-gamergate/ "Notorious men’s rights troll launches 'safe space' for Gamergate"], Daily Dot (12 Nov 2014, 8:23AM).</ref><ref>Amano, Aja, [https://www.vox.com/culture/2016/12/14/13576192/alt-right-sexism-recruitment "How the alt-right’s sexism lures men into white supremacy"] Vox (14 Dec 016, 2:20pm EST).</ref>

The [[Paleoconservatism|paleoconservative]] wing is perhaps the oldest (hence paleo):<ref>Alberta, Tim, [http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/04/22/pat-buchanan-trump-president-history-profile-215042 "‘The Ideas Made It, But I Didn’t’"], Politico May/June 2017.</ref> [[Pat Buchanan]] (himself a [[Nixon]] aide) founded the news journal which produced Richard Spencer, and you have guys who were once mainstream like [[Peter Brimelow]],<ref>Weigel, David, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/09/10/four-lessons-from-the-alt-rights-d-c-coming-out-party/ "Four lessons from the alt-right's D.C. coming-out party"], ''The Washington Post'' 10 September 2016.</ref> who was an aide to [[Orrin Hatch]] and editor of ''[[Forbes]]''. Then you have the Clinton-era [[Militia movement|militia]] groups like the [[Oath Keepers]],<ref>Sharrock, Justine, [http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2010/02/oath-keepers/ "Oath Keepers and the Age of Treason"], ''Mother Jones'' March/April 2010.</ref> who are in or out [[Shill gambit|depending on who you talk to]].<ref>[https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/06/15/alt-right-declares-flame-war-oath-keepers "'Alt-Right' Declares Flame War On Oath Keepers"], [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] (15 June 2017).</ref> There's the Silicon Valley [[neoreaction]] wing made up of techies and businesspeople, where some have considerable weight<ref>Piggot, Stephen, [https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/06/09/paypal-co-founder-peter-thiel-address-white-nationalist-friendly-%E2%80%9Cproperty-and-freedom "PayPal Co-Founder Peter Thiel to Address White Nationalist-Friendly “Property and Freedom Society” Conference in September"], SPLC (9 June 2016).</ref> (see [[Peter Thiel]] advising Trump), and others are just extremely prolific bloggers (Mencius Moldbug).<ref>Gray, Rosie, [https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/02/behind-the-internets-dark-anti-democracy-movement/516243/ "Behind the Internet's Anti-Democracy Movement"], ''Atlantic'' 10 February 2017.</ref> There's the academic [[HBD]]/[[eugenicist]] wing made up of professors, grad students, and their followers, some of whom are affiliated with neo-Nazi parties like [[Kevin MacDonald]]. The internet didn't cause these things so much as it allowed consolidation into the loose coalition of the alt-right. There are even more sects, but the point of things like "[[Unite the Right]]" is to try to hold all of them together.

Who exactly brought the movement to the mainstream? Richard Spencer, who is best described thus:<ref>[http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/10/richard-spencer-trump-alt-right-white-nationalist Meet the White Nationalist Trying To Ride The Trump Train to Lasting Power: Alt-right architect Richard Spencer aims to make racism cool again] by Josh Harkinson (Oct. 27, 2016 5:00 AM) ''Mother Jones''.</ref>
{{quotebox|Richard Spencer uses chopsticks to deftly pluck slivers of togarashi-crusted ahi from a rectangular plate. He is sitting in the Continental-style lounge of the Firebrand Hotel, near his home in the upscale resort town of Whitefish, [[Montana]], discussing a subject not typically broached in polite company. "Race is something between a breed and an actual [[species]]," he says, likening the differences between whites and people of color to those between golden retrievers and basset hounds. "It's that powerful."

We are well into our third round of Arrogant Frog, a merlot that Spencer chose because its name reminds him of [[Pepe]], the cartoon frog commandeered as a mascot by the "alt-right" movement that has been thrust from the shadows by Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Spencer says Pepe could also be seen as the reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian frog deity, [[Kek]]: "He is basically using the alt-right to unleash [[chaos]] and change the world," he says, looking slightly annoyed when I crack a smile. "You might say, 'Wow,' but this is literally how [[religions]] arise."}}

The correct response to Spencer and the alt-right is, "Wow, that's some fucking cringey [[racialist]] [[bullshit]]."

But behind Spencer and other key members of the alt-right was funding from old-guard racists: members of the {{wpl|Charles Martel Society||,}} particularly {{wpl| William Henry Regnery II|Bill Regnery||,}} a failed businessman and heir to [[Regnery Publishing]] fortune.<ref>[https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/aramroston/hes-spent-almost-20-years-funding-the-racist-right-it This Man Used His Inherited Fortune To Fund The Racist Right] by Aram Rostom & Joel Anderson (July 23, 2017 at 8:10 am) ''BuzzFeed News''.</ref><ref name=reeve>''Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics'' by Elle Reeve (2024) ISBN 1982198893.</ref>{{rp|34-35}} After Spencer left the alt-right, he said of its funders:<ref name=reeve/>{{rp|35}}
{{cquote|[[Vampire|They see something that is alive, and they want to go suck its blood]]. And then the second they don't think it's alive, or it's objectively dead, they want to move on to something else.}}

===The dawn of shitposting===
{{cquote|The movement is magnetized to [[shit]]. Any form of shit it sees, it wants to go die on that hill… It's just like ''Oh look&nbsp;— more shit! Let's go involve ourselves. Let's at least endorse it.'' It's just so insane."|||Elle Reeve<ref name=reeve/>{{rp|154}}}}
Although the alt-right has only become prominent in recent years, the truth is that [[Cringe culture|random people using the internet to spread cringey]] [[white supremacist]] [[propaganda]] is nothing new. Perhaps the first example of such would be the 1995 [[Usenet]] essay ''The Long March'' by Ian P. McKinney of the neo-[[fascist]] National Alliance.<ref>[http://www.panix.com/~lan/crusader/spam/racist.html The Long March] by Ian P. McKinney (25 Sep 95 20:11:43 -0700) reposted by ''Panix''. "Warning: The following is rather vile and racist, antisemitic, etc. It is reprinted here in the interest of tracking this spam, NOT in promoting their ignorant ideals."</ref> This essay was infamous not only for its extreme [[bigotry]] and pseudo-[[logic]] that would best be described as being [[not even wrong]] but also for being [[spam]]med everywhere on the internet.

The essay begins with a plea, [[Appeal to emotion|supposedly to those who care enough about the fate of Western civilization]], to heed the author's words. The essay then attacks [[Newt Gingrich]] and [[Rush Limbaugh]] for not being [[racist]] enough for McKinney's liking (one can assume that, if the word "[[Manosphere glossary#Cuckold|cuckservative]]" existed at the time, McKinney would have used it).

From there, the author proceeds to rattle off a [[Gish Gallop|painfully long diatribe]] in which he fusses about [[IQ]] scores and uses all other manner of [[Pseudostatistics|disproven statistics]], {{wpl|circumstantial evidence||,}} [[Deceit|half-truths]], [[stereotypes]], and condescending pseudo-intellectual [[jargon]] to reach his main [[Bullshit|"conclusion"]]: that [[Black brute|African Americans are developmentally inferior to Caucasians]] and that the only reason anyone believes otherwise is because of [[Cultural Marxism|the fiendish machinations of Jewish communists]] who have successfully infiltrated the cultural [[anthropology]] departments of major universities as part of their [[Conspiracy theory|sinister plot]] to overthrow [[Western world|Western civilization]].

McKinney argued that racial equality is a "false religion" promoted by fanatical [[sheeple]] consisting of [[liberals]] and moderate conservatives (and yes, he counted people like Gingrich as "moderates"), and there's also a brief mention of immigration causing [[white genocide]]. At least the knowledge that McKinney clearly has a lifetime's supply of [[Tinfoil hat|tinfoil]] is of some use should we need to borrow some for baking.

==Major themes==
{{cquote|Here's how to understand the alt-right: Think about what's right, then think about the alternative to that.|||[[Stephen Colbert]]<ref>{{cite web | last=Jung | first=E. Alex | title=Stephen Colbert Has the Best Description for the Alt-Right in His Opening Monologue | website=Vulture | date=2016-11-15 | url=https://www.vulture.com/2016/11/stephen-colbert-steve-bannon-alt-right.html | access-date=2026-01-14}}</ref>}}

Superstructure taken from "Dismantling the Alt-Right Mythology".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191227143153/https://whitemansturban.wordpress.com/2016/12/10/dismantling-the-alt-right-mythology/ Dismantling the Alt-Right Mythology]. Archived from whitemansturban.wordpress.com, 10 December 2016.</ref>

===Whites are under attack===
{{cquote|The alt-right is just a euphemism for [[Nazism]].|||''[[The Daily Stormer]]''<ref name="TDSrrhomos"/>}}[[File:Alternative Swastika.png|thumb|right|Look, it's the alt-swastika!]]
The subbreddit /r/AltRight defined itself thus:
{{quotebox|The Alt-Right, unlike the dominant ideology of the 20<sup>th</sup> Century (Liberalism/Conservatism), examines the world through a lens of realism. Rather than continue to look at the world through the ideological blinders that Liberalism imposes in its dogmatic evangelism of the Equalitarian religion, we prefer to look & examine social relations & demographics from a perspective of what's real. Thus, racial & sexual realism is a key component of the Alt-Right &mdash; perhaps the key component that ties the diverse factions within it together. Another core principle of the Alt-Right is [[Identitarianism]]. Identitarianism is the prioritization of social identity, regardless of political persuasion. Thus, the Alt-Right promotes White Identity and White Nationalism.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20160711091803/https://www.reddit.com/r/altright Alt-Right]. Archived from Reddit, 11 July 2016.</ref>}}

===Men are under attack===
{{main|Anti-feminism}}
In journalist Mike Wendling's book ''Alt-Right: From 4chan to the White House'', the alt-right's views on women's rights are explained thus:
{{quotebox|They are also opposed to [[feminism]]. While some begrudgingly give credit to [[Second wave feminism|second-wave feminists]] and concede that legal equality between the sexes is indeed a valid goal, others argue against any such notions. Some even say that [[Women's suffrage|giving women the franchise]] was a terrible mistake. Many embrace the old conservative lament that [[Good old days|"these days" things have "gone too far"]] and call for a reaffirmation of [[traditional values]]. At the same time, other alt-righters are obsessed with [[porn]] and the promise of sexual freedom offered by "[[Pick-up artist|pick-up artists]]."<ref name=wendling>Mike Wendling, ''Alt-Right: From 4Chan to the White House''. Pluto Press, 20 April 2018. {{isbn| 0745337953}}.</ref>}}

===Language is under attack===
{{main|Political correctness}}
{{cquote|"I am not a [[Racism|Sith]]. I am a [[Race realism|'Force realist.']]" #AltRightStarWars|||Patton Oswalt<ref>[http://archive.ph/kQjMN "I am not a Sith. I am a 'Force realist.'" #AltRightStarWars] by pattonoswalt (9:46 PM - 30 Sep 2016) ''Twitter'' (archived from 1 Oct 2016 22:01:42 UTC).</ref>}}
The alt-right has effectively co-opted common complaints about "political correctness" into their agenda, using the assumed overzealousness of "politically correct" people and movements to demonize everyone on the left and make their own far-right ideals look palatable in comparison. On this, Wendling writes:
{{quotebox|And yet they found traction as their online efforts melded with the current fever-pitch of anti-[[elitism]], and found a willing audience in a concentrated generational backlash against young men. These foot soldiers feel aggrieved by the successes of feminism and the progress made by ethnic minorities, and have also felt rising anxiety as former certainties about race, sexuality and gender crumble. At the same time, [[Persecution complex|some are puzzled and scared — as are many people from the more traditional right as well as the left — by the censorious atmosphere of many university campuses today]], [[Straw man|a confusing, sometimes barely comprehensible minefield of trigger warnings, privilege checking, safe spaces, and complicated sexual politics.]] For the alt-right, all of those fall under the umbrella of one of the ideas they loathe the most: political correctness.<ref name=wendling />}}

===Ethnostates===
{{main|Ethnocracy}}
{{cquote|"I'm just saying that when we die, there's gonna be a planet for the [[French]], a planet for the [[Chinese]], and we'll all be a lot happier."|||Barney Gumble, representative of the cause}}
While not much different from views expressed by more traditional white nationalists like [[Tom Metzger]], the alt-right often aims to create ethnostates,<ref name="Atkinson2018"/> such as a "white homeland" and the potential division of the continental [[United States]] into ethno-"regions". For example, noted alt-right leader [[Matthew Heimbach]] has called for the white region to be named "Avalon".

===On religion===
The alt-right's thoughts on religion are all over the place, but still decidedly intolerant of religious minorities, as Wendling explains:
{{quotebox|When it comes to religion there are equally baffling contradictions. The alt-right counts many committed [[Atheism|atheists]] in its ranks and [[Antitheism|many in the movement scorn monotheistic religious thought]]. Some embrace [[Cultural Christianity|a purely cultural notion of Christianity]] – they prefer cathedrals and incense to church communities and prayer – or even adhere to a pre-Christian [[paganism]]. You will also find a few churchgoers and many others who, like [[Steve Bannon]], are fond of talking about the "[[Judeo-Christian]] West."

Most importantly, alt-righters see no unity in the [[Abrahamic religions]]. [[Antisemitism]] is rife and goes well beyond sketchy reports of Bannon’s comments about [[Jews]]. Nazi imagery and "jokes" about [[Holocaust|gas chambers]] are one of the alt-right's defining tropes, and [[Politically incorrect|debate revolves not around the question of what should or shouldn't be said, but rather about what most irritates its opponents]].

[[Islamophobia|As for Islam – as a whole, and not just in its radical extremist form – it is viewed as an existential threat to Western civilization.]] Some of the less worldly alt-righters in America [[Eurabia|view Europe as already lost to the invading hoards<cite>[sic]</cite> from the East]], despite Muslims making up only 6 percent of the continent’s population.<ref name=wendling />}}

===Rebranding ideas from past losers===
{{cquote|The alt-right is a loser's poor fantasy of what a radical revolution looks like. I should know.|||former neo-Nazi Jacob Bacharach<ref>{{cite web | last=Bacharach | first=Jacob | title=I Was a Teenage Nazi Wannabe | website=The New Republic | date=2016-11-23 | url=https://newrepublic.com/article/138983/teenage-nazi-wannabe | access-date=2026-01-14}}</ref>}}
Any one of these alt-right leaders is basically just taking the ideas of past idiots like [[David Duke]], [[Tom Metzger]], and [[George Lincoln Rockwell]] (who was such a joke in his day that he was murdered by a bunch of fellow neo-Nazis in 1967 at a laundromat), dusting them off and updating a few words here and there.<ref name="Atkinson2018"/> Then when shit gets crazy, much like alt-right figurehead [[Gavin McInnes]], they abandon the alt-right ship and say the whole thing was [[just a joke]] anyways. Nice dodge, guys.

Most who are involved in the alt-right movement are {{wpl|Attention whore|attention-seeking media whores}} who will latch onto anything to get a press agent. When judged on accomplishments alone, someone like [[Milo Yiannopoulos]], who can't seem to figure out how to properly book a room at UC Berkeley, stands shoulder to shoulder with a complete nutjob like David Duke, who can't get through an interview without frothing at the mouth about his fake PhD and disavowing his past [[KKK]] affiliation. 

On substance, they put forth the same vile tenets of white extremism, Nazi ideology, and ethnic division as part of their modern agenda.<ref name="Atkinson2018"/> They share the same laughable ineptitude as their forefathers when making the most basic logical case for their point of view when challenged with the most simplistic line of [[rational]] questioning. Some may try to come up with a semi-coherent argument in support of their socio-political position that "white people are good, period"… but then they will flail uselessly when someone brings up the obvious counterargument that there is a hell of a lot of unjustifiable [[Crimes against humanity|atrocities]] committed by whites against non-whites and that, no, you really can't blame all that on "Cultural Marxism" or immigrants or the "liberal media" or "the Jews".<ref group=note>Unless, of course, they take it as a badge of honor and claim that "the kikes and [[nigger]]s deserved it".</ref> Realistically, this is an argument that no white supremacist would ever concede, as it goes against their ideology to take personal responsibility for any wrongdoing whatsoever.

===The need for attention===
For whatever reasons, most of the leaders that have emerged from this new movement have shared the same trait as their glorious forefathers in so far as needing attention from traditional and non-traditional media outlets, especially the former. This might also be what separates them from your average brainrot neo-Nazi and KKK members who have, up until now at least, only really managed to be able to produce typo-strewn monthly publications and random acts of violence, mostly on their fellow race warriors™.

In being able to actually put a sentence together, traditional media outlets have raced to interview, profile, and "examine" this group of "new voices" emerging on the fringes of the right-wing. The major issue with this development is that, at the end of the day, they are just rehashing the tenets of the same old racist [[propaganda]] for their own gain.

The other problem is, by giving these alt-right figureheads a platform, traditional media outlets have allowed them to spread a damaging underlying message of hatred to many more ears than their incompetent predecessors could have ever dreamed possible and have potentially lent them an air of legitimacy. This has tragic consequences, as witnessed by some alt-right-inspired [[mass shooting]]s. Even when the alt-right tries to walk back from these events as they usually do, they rarely miss an opportunity to take credit for these tragedies by blaming their behavior on black people once the dust has settled.

===Doublethink===
For the alt-right's massive number of [[conspiracy theories]], slurs, and insults to make any sense, obscene use of [[doublethink]] is basically required. Jonathan Weisman notes:

{{quotebox|The anti-Semitism of the alt-right, the newest manifestation of bigotry that combines age-old hatred with internet-era technological savvy, biting wit and a self-conscious sense of [[irony]], shows no more logical consistency than the anti-Semitism of the past. Jews are both [[International Jewish conspiracy|all-powerful puppetmasters]] and sniveling weaklings, [[Evil Jew|rapacious capitalists and left-wing anarchists]]. [[Holocaust denial|The Holocaust never happened]], but man, was it cool.<ref>Jonathan Weisman, [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/18/sunday-review/bernie-bernstein-fake-jews.html When the Right Pushes Fake Jews]. ''[[The New York Times]]'', 18 November 2017.</ref>}}

===Alt-tech===
'''Alt-tech''' refers to a recent phenomenon of various "[[free speech]]" internet websites and companies which serve as alternatives to mainstream websites such as [[YouTube]], [[Facebook]], [[Twitter]], [[Reddit]], [[Wikipedia]], Patreon, GoFundMe, and dating sites. In many cases, these websites are overflowing with typical alt-right content, and while many of these websites do not necessarily support the views of the alt-right (with a few exceptions), they tend to have plenty of users who post or upload content that is explicitly in line with the alt-right. "Alt-tech" websites have included [[PewTube]], Gab, WrongThink, Voat, Hatreon, [[Rightpedia]], Goyfundme, Goyim.TV, Rumble, and WASP Love. One ''New York Times'' reporter had used various "Alt-tech" outlets and found them to be a mess in his own eyes.

The alt-right idea of "free speech" is the protected right to call for the [[Ethnic cleansing|deportation]] or [[Genocide|death of non-whites]],<ref>Siegel, Jacob, [https://www.thedailybeast.com/dylann-roof-4chan-and-the-new-online-racism "Dylann Roof, 4chan, and the New Online Racism"], Daily Beast (29 June 2015, 5:25 AM ET).</ref> trying to get a feel for those who agree with you,<ref>[https://pastebin.com/bsXkkuPt Op Sea Lion], Stormfront. Retrieved from Pastebin 19 February 2014.</ref><ref>Savvy, Brad, [https://web.archive.org/web/20200208105804/https://twitter.com/Brad_Savvy/status/979463051643584512 29 Mar 2018 Tweet], Twitter.</ref> coordinating efforts to disseminate and refine the ideas espoused in the name of "free speech",<ref>Park MacDonald and Jason Willick, [http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/04/steve-sailer-invented-identity-politics-for-the-alt-right.html "The Man Who Invented Identity Politics for the New Right"], ''NYMag'' (30 April 2017 8:55 pm).</ref> public events to spread the ideas outside of one's social circle,<ref>Harkinson, Josh, [https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/06/kyle-chapman-based-stickman-alt-right/ "Cashing in on the Rise of the Alt-Right"], ''Mother Jones'' (16 June 2017, 6:00 AM).</ref> and lobbying from a political standpoint to have those ideas brought into the public discourse.<ref>[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39250251 "Steve King tweet backing Geert Wilders sparks social media backlash"], BBC 13 March 2017.</ref><ref>Bernstein, Joseph, [https://www.buzzfeed.com/josephbernstein/heres-how-breitbart-and-milo-smuggled-white-nationalism?utm_term=.wyk2B4ZaO#.giPk0EmzJ "Here's How Breitbart And Milo Smuggled Nazi and White Nationalist Ideas Into The Mainstream"], Buzzfeed (5 October 2017, 3:28 p.m.).</ref><ref>Hayden, Michael Edison, [http://www.newsweek.com/neo-nazi-david-duke-backed-meme-was-reported-tucker-carlson-without-context-714655 "It's OK to be white: How Fox News is helping to spread Neo-Nazi propaganda"], ''Newsweek'' (19 November 2017, 10:00 AM).</ref><ref>Lenz, Ryan, [https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/02/26/racists-roam-halls-cpac-and-conservative-conference-ends-controversy-over-racist-comments "Racists roam the halls of CPAC, and the conservative conference ends in controversy over racist comments"], SPLC 26 February 2018.</ref> All of this is legal as long as it is done through the magical lens of probable deniability.<ref>Fulbright, Alexander, [https://www.timesofisrael.com/nazi-imagery-on-full-display-at-alt-right-event-in-washington/ "Nazi imagery on full display at alt-right event in Washington"], Times of Israel (21 November 2016, 12:44 pm).</ref>

==Unite the Right==
{{main|Unite the Right}}
{{cquote|On the one hand, Charlottesville was a catastrophe. ... On the other hand, however, Charlottesville changed nothing. The central tenets that have always animated alt-right activism continue to inspire the movement ... The alt-right movement may have emerged from Charlottesville demoralized, but it was far from vanquished.<ref name="Atkinson2018"/>}}
On August 11–12, 2017, various alt-right white nationalist, white supremacist, and antisemitic groups held a "Unite the Right" (UtR) rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where they protested against the Jews and their [[The Great Replacement|supposed plan to replace the white race]] with non-white immigrants.<ref group=note>Ostensibly, the rally was about maintaining a Confederate monument in the city, though it became clear that was only one uniting factor.</ref> Also in attendance were right-wing militia groups such as the Oath Keepers and [[Three Percenters]].<ref name="PBSNewsHourUtR">(August 14, 2017). [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/white-nationalists-see-violent-charlottesville-rally-successful-turning-point "White nationalists see violent Charlottesville rally as successful turning point"]. ''PBS NewsHour''.</ref> Somewhat presciently, the [[Proud Boys]] officially skipped the rally, citing the planned attendance by explicit neo-Nazis as a factor.<ref>Alan Feuer (August 14, 2017). [https://web.archive.org/web/20230516201220/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/14/us/white-supremacists-right-wing-extremists-richard-spencer.html "Far Right Plans Its Next Moves With a New Energy"]. ''The New York Times''.</ref><ref group=note>Some members nonetheless attended in defiance of P.B. leadership, for which they were kicked out of the organization.</ref>

Cries of "Jews will not replace us" and "You will not replace us", followed by "White Lives Matter" and the [[Nazism|Nazi]]-era slogan "Blood and Soil" were heard. Unfortunately for the protesters, [[Antifa]] counter-protesters were standing in their way, and what was a simple protest soon turned to violence when a neo-Nazi named [[James Alex Fields Jr.]] killed a woman named Heather Heyer during the rally, for which he received a sentence of life in prison. This wasn't the only act of violence: a protester was seen shooting a gun, a black man ({{wpl|DeAndre Harris||)}} was assaulted by six white men resulting in Harris suffering a concussion and four of the white men receiving jail sentences, and [[League of the South|League of the South Florida]] members led by Craig Tubbs shoved their shields at counter-protesters.

===Aftermath and "optics"===
{{cquote|The reality is that it's not the optics people are objecting to, it's the message. Even in this crazy day and age, the majority of Americans reject hardcore white supremacy whether there are swastikas or suits and ties involved. White supremacists can't face that, so they quibble over optics instead.|||Mark Pitcavage<ref name="ViceUtR2"/>}}
The organizer of the rally, [[Jason Kessler]], was denounced and later sentenced to 50 hours of community service for punching James Taylor. ''The Daily Stormer'' insulted the victim killed in the rally during the subsequent media frenzy, resulting in the website being expelled from Google and GoDaddy.com. Many [[social media]] platforms (especially those where the event was planned or promoted) began policing alt-right accounts and content more aggressively following UtR. Members of the movement were also [[doxed]], fired by their employers, or removed from payment processors.<ref name="ADL1YrLater">[https://www.adl.org/resources/report/charlottesville-one-year-later "Charlottesville: One Year Later"]. ''[[Anti-Defamation League]]''.</ref><ref>Christine Lagorio-Chafkin (September 23, 2018). [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/sep/23/reddit-charlottesville-we-are-the-nerds-book-extract-christine-lagorio-chafkin "How Charlottesville forced Reddit to clean up its act"]. ''The Observer''.</ref><ref name="Atkinson2018">{{Cite journal |last=Atkinson |first=David C. |date=2018-04-03 |title=Charlottesville and the alt-right: a turning point? |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21565503.2018.1454330 |journal=Politics, Groups, and Identities |language=en |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=309–315 |doi=10.1080/21565503.2018.1454330 |issn=2156-5503}}</ref>

Meant to be a "rally the troops" showing that might further galvanize the movement, the rally ultimately achieved precisely the opposite, despite initial appearances to the contrary.<ref name="ADL1YrLater"/>{{efn|Given the apparent unity the rally projected, its relatively high attendance compared to other far-right events in the United States, and the widespread attention it had generated, one could have been forgiven for interpreting it as a success for the alt-right initially. Some alt-right leaders, like [[Matthew Heimbach]], hailed the rally as a strategic success for those reasons, immediately following the event.<ref name="PBSNewsHourUtR"/>}} It was essentially a real-world culmination for the various sub-movements of the alt-right which had been bubbling up for several years, and many within the movement considered it a catastrophic failure in terms of political ''optics'' (that is, [[public relations]]). That was especially because of a combination of: the widely-noted presence of explicit neo-Nazis and Klansmen, the arrests of several prominent alt-right activists (like Richard Spencer and {{wpl|Christopher Cantwell||),}} the ensuing violence, national-scale media coverage, and a general failure by the alt-right to impress its desired narratives about the event onto the public.<ref name="Atkinson2018"/><ref name="InterceptAltLite">Leighton Akio Woodhouse (September 21 2017). [https://theintercept.com/2017/09/21/gavin-mcinnes-alt-right-proud-boys-richard-spencer-charlottesville/ "After Charlottesville, The American Far Right Is Tearing Itself Apart"]. ''The Intercept''.</ref>

Thus, many sought to adjust their tactics from then on accordingly.<ref name="Atkinson2018"/><ref name="ADL1YrLater"/> This internal "optics war", among other internal divisions inflamed by the inflection point which the Unite the Right rally represented, helped fuel the relative disunity of the movement over the next few years.<ref>Elle Reeve (November 19, 2021). [https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/19/us/unite-the-right-trial-charlottesville-rally/index.html "The Unite the Right trial is exposing the chasm between who plans White nationalism’s battles and who does the fighting"]. CNN</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=McAdams |first=A. James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Lo8EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT186 |title=Contemporary Far-Right Thinkers and the Future of Liberal Democracy |last2=Castrillon |first2=Alejandro |date=September 2021 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-000-43196-4 |language=en |chapter=Chapter 12: The 'Groyper' Movement in the US}}</ref>{{efn|Alongside broadening public awareness of the re-emerging far-right, the optical failures themselves, and increasing enforcement of anti-hate moderation policies online.}} Kessler (among others) would go on to promote more "sanitized", optics-focused strategies along the lines of the ''[[It's Okay to Be White]]'' poster campaign.<ref>Cristina López G. (February 26, 2019).[https://www.mediamatters.org/maga-trolls/white-supremacist-behind-charlottesville-unite-right-rally-blames-fellow-racists "White supremacist behind Charlottesville Unite the Right rally blames fellow racists for failure of his extremist crusade"]. ''[[Media Matters for America]]''.</ref> Others within the alt-right would reject optics-focused strategies. In one striking summary of this division within the alt-right, the perpetrator of the 2018 [[Pittsburgh synagogue shooting]] would declare online immediately before committing the massacre: "Screw your optics, I'm going in."<ref>Alex Amend and the Network Contagion Research Institute (November 1, 2018). [https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/11/01/gab-domestic-terrorist-robert-bowers-engaged-several-influential-alt-right-figures "On Gab, domestic terrorist Robert Bowers engaged with several influential alt-right figures"]. ''Hatewatch''. [[Southern Poverty Law Center]].</ref><ref>(November 6, 2018).[https://www.adl.org/resources/blog/tree-life-shooting-revives-optics-debate-among-white-supremacists "Tree of Life Shooting Revives 'Optics' Debate Among White Supremacists"]. ''[[Anti-Defamation League]]''.</ref>

Another example of such splitting occurred with the far-right Vanguard America group, which James Alex Fields Jr. had marched with at UtR. As a direct result of UtR and the resultant ''optics war'' infighting, the group splintered, with {{wpl|Patriot Front}} taking a more [[Euphemism|euphemistic]] approach and {{wpl|National Socialist Legion}} a more explicit approach to the goal of promoting neofascist ideology.<ref>[https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/vanguard-america "Vanguard America"]. ''[[Anti-Defamation League]]''.</ref> Members of the alt-right who are overly concerned with optics (if to an even greater extent than the examples cited above) might be categorized as ''[[alt-lite]]''; these ''[[fellow traveler]]s'' would tend more towards eschewing open association with the alt-right in the succeeding years whether or not they shared the same goals.<ref name="Atkinson2018"/><ref name="InterceptAltLite"/> It is, after all, only a difference of [[style over substance|style rather than substance]].<ref name="InterceptAltLite"/>

===Similar events===
Just one week after the UtR rally, a "Free Speech Rally" in [[Boston]] drew only a few dozen attendees, who were drowned out by some 15,000–30,000 counter-protesters.<ref name="Atkinson2018"/><ref>Julia Glum (August 19, 2017). [https://www.newsweek.com/boston-free-speech-counter-protest-arrests-652387 "Boston Free Speech Rally Ends Early After 15K Counter-Protesters Drown It Out"]. ''Newsweek''.</ref> This could be seen as a direct manifestation of the American public's rejection of the alt-right immediately following UtR.

Another "Unite the Right" event (dubbed "Unite the Right 2") was held a year later, in [[Washington, D.C.]] — and it had nowhere near the broad attendance by a wide variety of alt-right groups and individuals that the original event did. Instead, it was overwhelmed by a massive crowd of counter-protesters.<ref>Dakin Andone, Mallory Simon and Sara Sidner (August 13, 2018). [https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/12/us/unite-the-right-charlottesville-anniversary/index.html "White nationalists dwarfed by crowds of counterprotesters in Washington"]. [[CNN]].</ref><ref name="ViceUtR2">Allie Conti (August 16, 2018). [https://www.vice.com/en/article/ywkkwb/how-the-alt-right-is-spinning-their-humiliating-rally-in-dc "How the Alt-Right Is Spinning Their Humiliating 'Rally' in DC"]. ''Vice News''.</ref> Seeing as this event was also organized by Jason Kessler, it was illustrative of the movement's loss of trust in him and its renewed focus on optics (at least for the time being).<ref>Luke Barnes and Joshua Eaton (June 29, 2018). [https://archive.thinkprogress.org/leaked-chat-logs-show-unite-the-right-disorganized-and-desperate-for-mainstream-acceptance-d2c2ce9cdc77/ "Charlottesville rally organizer is lonely, desperate for mainstream acceptance in leaked chat logs"]. ''[[ThinkProgress]]''.</ref><ref name="ViceUtR2"/>

The [[2021 U.S. Capitol riot]] would later represent a similar occurrence to the Unite the Right rally, with some attendance by extreme alt-right individuals (e.g. [[Nick Fuentes]]) and groups. However, it can't be understood as a manifestation of quite the same contexts, especially because the Capitol riot was primarily spearheaded by a ''relatively'' more "mainstreamed" pro-Trump conservatism than it was by the most racially-focused and explicitly neofascist elements of the alt-right.

==US presidential politics==
===Trump cult===
[[File:Alt-Right Subreddit Heading.jpg|thumb|right|The alt-right: [[Motte and bailey|fascists among themselves, fans of societal progress when normies are looking]].]]
{{cquote|If you dislike the [[religious right]], wait till you meet the post-religious right.|||[[Ross Douthat]]<ref>"A thought sent back in time to the theocracy panic of 2005: If you dislike the religious right, wait till you meet the post-religious right." - Ross Douthat on Twitter (4:24 PM on February 29th, 2016). Archived [https://web.archive.org/web/20200712171311/https://twitter.com/douthatnyt/status/704462319074594816 here.]</ref>}}
The full spectrum from neoreaction to the alt-right came out solidly for Donald Trump as the [[2016 U.S. presidential election|2016 presidential nominee]]. In an interview with [[MSNBC]], [[Republican Party|Republican]] strategist Rick Wilson characterized Trump supporters as an online movement of [[antisemite]]s and "childless single men who [[Masturbation|masturbate]] to anime," noting the "[[Hitler]] iconography in their Twitter icons and names."<ref>Heather, [http://crooksandliars.com/2016/01/gop-strategist-calls-trump-supporters GOP Strategist Calls Trump Supporters 'Childless, Single Men Who Masturbate To Anime'], ''Crooks and Liars'', Jan. 19, 2016.</ref> Elements of the alt-right have also been sympathetic to [[Nigel Farage]], [[Vladimir Putin]],<ref>Everett, Chris (August 4, 2016). [http://commentcentral.co.uk/the-alternative-right-has-a-putin-problem/ "The 'alternative' right has a Putin problem"]. ''Comment Central''.</ref> and [[Brexit]] — although some white nationalists call for a [[Europe]]an superstate built along ethnic lines,<ref>Gais, Hannah (June 28, 2016). [http://washingtonspectator.org/alt-right-brexit/ "Alt-Right Emboldened"]. ''The Washington Spectator''.</ref> not unlike [[Oswald Mosley]]'s {{wpl|Europe a Nation|"Europe a Nation"}} policy or the [[Third Reich]].

[[Steve Bannon]], the former CEO of the Trump campaign who was briefly Trump's chief political strategist in the White House, is also tied in with the alt-right and anti-"establishment" populism; he was the former executive chairman of [[Breitbart]] News LLC and "turned Breitbart into Trump Pravda for his own personal gain", according to former Breitbart employee [[Ben Shapiro]]. Under his leadership, Breitbart embraced "the white supremacist alt-right", and the website "[became] the alt-right go-to website", according to Shapiro.<ref>Shapiro, Ben.[https://web.archive.org/web/20160817164849/http://www.dailywire.com/news/8441/i-know-trumps-new-campaign-chairman-steve-bannon-ben-shapiro "I Know Trump's New Campaign Chairman, Steve Bannon. Here's What You Need To Know."].  ''The Daily Wire''.</ref> Bannon once openly bragged about Breitbart: "We're the platform for the alt-right".<ref>Sarah Posner (August 22, 2016). [https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/08/stephen-bannon-donald-trump-alt-right-breitbart-news/ "How Steve Bannon Created an Online Haven for White Nationalists"]. ''Mother Jones''.</ref><ref>Alex Altman (November 14, 2016). [https://time.com/4569895/donald-trump-stephen-bannon-alt-right/ "How Donald Trump Is Bringing the Alt-Right to the White House"]. ''Time''.</ref> Ultimately, however, Bannon, like so many others who had worked in the administration, was dropped.<ref>(January 9, 2018). [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42628201 "Steve Bannon leaves Breitbart News amid Trump row"]. ''[[BBC|BBC News]]''.</ref>

[[Stephen Miller]], another Trump adviser, was arguably even worse: leaked emails showed his affinity for white nationalist publications (like [[VDARE]] and [[American Renaissance]]) and the broader alt-right.<ref>Joel Rose (November 26, 2019). [https://www.npr.org/2019/11/26/783047584/leaked-emails-fuel-calls-for-stephen-miller-to-leave-white-house "Leaked Emails Fuel Calls For Stephen Miller To Leave White House"]. ''NPR''.</ref><ref>Michael Edison Hayden (November 12, 2019). [https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/11/12/stephen-millers-affinity-white-nationalism-revealed-leaked-emails "Stephen Miller’s Affinity for White Nationalism Revealed in Leaked Emails"]. ''Hatewatch''. [[Southern Poverty Law Center]].</ref>{{efn|Is it not a bit ironic that one of the alt-right's biggest allies in Trump's White House was himself Jewish?}} In another instance of possible alt-right involvement in the Trump team, social media director Daniel Scavino for Trump selected antisemitic imagery (originally from 8chan) to attack Hillary Clinton with in 2016.<ref>Chris Moody and Alexander Rosen (July 5, 2016). [https://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/29/politics/donald-trump-tweets-daniel-scavino/ "How a golf caddie became Trump’s campaign confidant"]. CNN.</ref> Another alt-right figure in the administration was [[Sebastian Gorka]], a follower of the antisemitic {{wpl|Magyar Gárda}} and {{wpl|Order of Vitéz||,}} who was a Trump adviser for seven months.<ref>Jessica Estepa (March 17, 2017). [https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/03/17/democratic-senators-call-investigation-into-trump-aide-sebastian-gorka/99320230/ "Democratic senators call for investigation into Trump aide Sebastian Gorka"]. ''USA Today''.</ref><ref>Joe Concha (March 4, 2019). [https://thehill.com/homenews/media/432450-gorka-fox-part-ways/ "Gorka, Fox part ways"]. ''The Hill''.</ref><ref>Tina Nguyen (April 4, 2017). [https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/04/sebastian-gorka-anti-semitism-hungarian-guard "Far-Right Trump Adviser Tied to Anti-Semitic Paramilitary Group"]. ''Vanity Fair''.</ref>

Aside from direct links by some Trump staffers or advisers to the alt-lite and alt-right, however, various aspects of his political career and campaigning style made him appealing to these groups. This includes [[Rhetoric of Donald Trump|his rhetoric]], [[Authoritarianism of Donald Trump|his authoritarianism]], and [[Policies of Donald Trump|his policies]]. Because these have often promoted [[political correctness|political incorrectness]], [[anti-intellectualism]], and [[prejudice]], all of which disrupted mainstream political norms in a way that benefited the far-right, his 2016 campaign received broad appeal among the alt-right.<ref name="Atkinson2018"/><ref name="SlateAltRightTrump">Ben Mathis-Lilley (August 14, 2017). [https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2017/08/donald-trumps-ties-to-alt-right-white-supremacists-are-extensive.html "How Trump Has Cultivated the White Supremacist Alt-Right for Years"]. ''Slate''.</ref> In turn, Trump himself has occasionally offered some direct cover for the alt-right movement, for example when he attempted to [[Moral equivalence|morally equate]] them with an "[[alt-left]]".<ref name="Atkinson2018"/><ref>William Cummings (August 15, 2017). [https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/08/15/president-trump-alt-left-charlottesville/571192001/ "Trump spoke of the 'alt-left.' Is that a thing?"]. ''USA Today''.</ref>

===Yang gang===
In early 2019, the American alt-right had a schism, with many members bizarrely defecting from Trump to Democratic presidential hopeful [[Andrew Yang]].<ref name="InsiderYangGang">Nicole Einbinder (March 26, 2019). [https://www.insider.com/white-supremacists-are-disillusioned-by-trump-and-joining-the-yang-gang-2019-3 "White nationalists and the alt-right are disillusioned with Trump — and some are joining the Yang Gang"]. ''Business Insider''.</ref> The alt-right's increasing disillusionment with Trump was partly due to his failure to get his flagship ''Build the Wall'' policy passed despite his attempts to blackmail Congress into rubberstamping it, using a government shutdown; his very pro-[[Israel]] policies; his support for even a limited level of legal immigration; and his authorization of the {{wpl|2017 Shayrat missile strike}} in [[Syria]].<ref name="MELYangGang">Eddie Kim. [https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/andrew-yang-yanggang "Getting Yang-Pilled by the #YangGang"]. ''MEL Magazine''.</ref><ref name="InsiderYangGang"/>

The attraction to Yang was based on:
# One possibly completely innocent Yang tweet mentioning falling white birth rates.<ref name="TheVergeYangGang"/>
# Another tweet, calling Americans underdogs in their own country — a sentiment that [[ZOG]] conspiracy theorists would agree with. However, his tweet was alluding more to the idea that [[Income inequality|the deck is stacked against the average American economically]].
# His opposition to [[circumcision]], as it is a religious requirement in both Islam and Judaism (neither of which the alt-right tend to be fond of). However, Yang has said he would not oppose circumcision for religious or cultural reasons and would not attempt to ban it by law, instead wanting parents to be better informed rather than having the practice "pushed" on them — as is common in the US.<ref>J.K. Trotter (March 26, 2019). [https://www.insider.com/andrew-yang-infant-circumcision-2019-3 "Anti-circumcision activists are angry with Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang over his stance on the procedure"]. ''Business Insider''.</ref><ref>Jeremy Hobson (March 26, 2019). [https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/03/26/andrew-yang-circumcision-debate "The Pros And Cons Of Circumcision: Democrat Andrew Yang Resurfaces The Debate"]. ''WBUR-FM''.</ref> How this would manifest itself in the form of federal policy was unclear.
# Probably most importantly, his policy to [[universal basic income|give $1,000 a month]] to every American ("Freedom Dividend"), which has nothing to do with alt-right beliefs but is attractive to many people regardless of their other views.

Yang formally disavowed the alt-right's support — as would be expected by any presidential candidate that wanted to have a shot at winning an election, even Donald Trump did this (reluctantly). But he also said that he found their support hilarious, in part because of their use of surrealist [[Internet meme]] imagery.<ref name="VoxYangGang">Dylan Matthews (June 15, 2019). [https://www.vox.com/2019/3/11/18256198/andrew-yang-gang-presidential-policies-universal-basic-income-joe-rogan "Andrew Yang, the 2020 long-shot candidate running on a universal basic income, explained"]. ''Vox''.</ref><ref name="TheVergeYangGang">Russell Brandom (March 9, 2019). [https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/9/18256622/andrew-yang-2020-president-meme-yanggang "Presidential candidate Andrew Yang has a meme problem"]. ''The Verge''.</ref> Their frequent use of such imagery (e.g. in the ''vaporwave'' style) drew easy parallels to Trump's online supporters during the 2016 election.<ref name="MELYangGang"/><ref name="InsiderYangGang"/> Despite Yang's disavowal of the alt-right, an argument in response by white nationalist [[Greg Johnson]] summarized why they may not have cared: "he will still cash our checks".<ref name="InsiderYangGang"/> In this way, many alt-righters argued that neither Trump nor Yang would help advance their political goals, but that at least with Yang, they would have gotten $1,000 a month.

People should have no illusions that this flip to a Democrat for cynical reasons indicates any fundamental political realignment. After Yang's deputy chief of staff tweeted that the Freedom Dividend was feminist, angry alt-righters sought her social security number and other personal details to dox her.<ref name="BuzzFeedNewsYangGang">Ryan Broderick (March 14, 2019). [https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanhatesthis/4chan-vs-the-yang-gang "Andrew Yang Wants The Support Of The Pro-Trump Internet. Now It Is Threatening To Devour Him."] ''BuzzFeed News''.</ref> Likewise, some on the alt-right began accusing Yang himself of being a "Manchurian candidate"-esque Chinese socialist spy.<ref name="BuzzFeedNewsYangGang"/> This racialized attack was despite the fact that Yang, more precisely, descends from ''[[Taiwan]]ese'' immigrants.<ref name="VoxYangGang"/><ref name="MELYangGang"/>

Although the "Yang gang" phenomenon was relatively brief (especially because Yang lost the Democratic primary), it may be seen less as reflective on Yang himself, or on some move away from racist ideology by the alt-right, but instead more reflective of a wider disillusionment with Trump that had been growing across the alt-right ever since the 2016 election. Yang gang represented a desperate search by the alt-right for any kind of alternative — to the responsibility of attaching themselves to anyone who was actually in power, and the complex political realities that entails.

==See also==
{{fun}}
*[[Alt-right glossary]]
*[[Classical antiquity]] — includes misrepresentations and appropriations by the alt-right
*[[Distinction without a difference]]
*[[Neo-Nazism]], of which some of the more hardcore elements of the alt-right are associated with
*[[Identitarianism]], a European white nationalist movement that is followed by some members of the alt-right such as [[Identity Evropa]] and [[Richard Spencer]]
*[[Pepe the Frog]], one of the many things that were appropriated by the alt-right
*[[4chan]] and [[8chan]], two of the hubs of the alt-right
*[[Gab]], an alt-right alternative to [[Twitter]]
*[[BitChute]], a [[racism|"free speech"]] alternative to [[YouTube]] used by the alt-right
*[[Breitbart News]], a news service which many in the alt-right follow
*[[Alt-lite]], a ever so slightly more moderate version of the alt-right
*[[Netto-uyoku]], Japanese internet far-right nationalists

==External links==

* [https://www.britannica.com/topic/alt-right Alt-right], Britannica
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190629025640/https://newsthump.com/2016/12/20/im-not-sith-im-alt-jedi-clarifies-darth-vader/ I’m not Sith, I’m Alt-Jedi, clarifies Darth Vader]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/27/us/politics/alt-right-reaction.html Clinton mentioned the alt-right, and they went berserk]. Meanwhile the "alt-light" (the Gamergate-esque subset of the alt-right who didn't quite know what they were getting into) mocked Clinton for suggesting that Pepe had anything to do with fascism.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160813121356/https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/alternative-right Alternative Right] ([[Southern Poverty Law Center]])
* [http://www.vox.com/2016/4/18/11434098/alt-right-explained ''Vox'' explainer on the alt-right]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20160831033749/https://www.reddit.com/r/altright/comments/4ziw6i/new_to_the_alt_right_dont_believe_the_lying_press/?st=isicr37b&sh=bdc7676d How they describe themselves], as per [[Reddit]]. DON'T BELIEVE THE [[MSM]] [[Shill gambit|SHILLS]]!
* [http://explosm.net/comics/4467/ Cyanide and Happiness explains: Neo-Nazi Simulator 2016]
*[[Reddit]]:
:*<strike>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100307212807/http://www.reddit.com/r/altright /r/AltRight]</strike> - Banned on February 1, 2017 (for [[doxing]]). The mods took away the subs that let them torment black people/fat people, "investigate" a fictitious [[Pizzagate|pedophile ring]], or share such baubles as "the end goal of feminism is lesbianism". Truly a dark day for America.
:*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170630152302/https://www.reddit.com/r/TheNewRight/ /r/theNewRight]
*[https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/12/are-jews-white/509453/ Are Jews White?] The Atlantic on the Alt-Right's hatred of Jews
*''Salon'''s Alt-right series:
:*[http://www.salon.com/2016/12/08/how-the-alt-right-became-racist-a-short-history-of-hate-part-1/ "A history of hate: How the alt-right became racist (Part 1)"]
:*[http://www.salon.com/2016/12/09/how-the-alt-right-became-racist-part-2-long-before-trump-white-nationalists-flocked-to-ron-paul/ "How the alt-right became racist, Part 2: Long before Trump, white nationalists flocked to Ron Paul"]
:*[http://www.salon.com/2016/12/14/rise-of-the-alt-right-how-mainstream-conservatives-empowered-racism-and-engineered-their-own-destruction/ "Rise of the alt-right: How mainstream conservatives’ obsession with purity fueled a new right-wing radicalism"]
*[https://japantoday.com/category/features/opinions/what-'uyoku-dantai'-and-japanese-alt-right-groups-want What 'uyoku dantai' and Japanese alt-right groups want]
*[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJA_jUddXvY7v0VkYRbANnTnzkA_HMFtQ The alt-right playbook] - a by-the-by in-depth exploration of how the alt-right fundamentally works.

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

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