Mapping Supremacist Ideologies: A Computational and Qualitative Examination of Ideological Cross-Pollination between Extreme Misogynistic and Alt-Right Ecosystems on the Internet

In recent years, the UK Home Office has reported an overall increase in extremist acts carried out by individuals who did not exhibit a clear and discernible ideological influence. Rather, a significant number of offenders reflected a ‘conflicted’ ideology incorporating elements from multiple extremist worldviews (Home Office, 2024). Formally referred to in this report as ‘Mixed, Unstable, and Unclear’ (MUU) extremism, such ideologies have become the subject of growing concern within recent years, particularly owing to radicalised individuals’ reported exposure through online spaces and their associated ecosystems. As networked technologies facilitate engagement with a diverse array of extremist beliefs, it is vital that this phenomenon be subjected to greater empirical scrutiny to better understand how narratives spread through interlinked virtual spaces, as well as develop tactics to combat them. The current literature reflects a shortage of empirical research exploring the overlap and potential cross-pollination of ideas between different ideological groups on the internet. Therefore, this thesis presents the first large-scale, data-driven understanding of the transference and mixing of beliefs between different online extremist spaces. It examines and compares extreme misogynistic and alt-right discourses originating in a sample of extremist internet forums, with a view to how technological affordances enable users across ideological spheres to enforce, disseminate, and (re)construct their worldviews. To conceptualise the influence of different ideologies on one another, it regards these communities as overlapping ‘ecosystems’, empirically supporting this stance by observing the intersection between hegemonic discourses in incel, red pill/wider manosphere, and alt-right spaces, with emphasis on how networked technologies directly enable this. This provides a better understanding of conflicted supremacist radicalisation and networks online, emphasising the role of digital tools in these processes without arguing that extreme communities are necessarily restricted to virtual environments.<p></p>

Author dc:creator

• Simone Long (21043748)

• Far-Right
• Manosphere
• Incels
• Masculinities
• Supremacy
• Racism
• Extremism
• Ideologies
• Web 2.0
• Radicalisation
• Online ecosystems
• Online subcultures
• Misogyny

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved
• Open Access after 2027-05-26

Identifier

10779/exe.32348553.v1

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:figshare.com:article/32348553