Far-right people and their followers can be found on social media. We know that it spreads misinformation and prejudice, but we don't think about how it creates phantom movements where a few motivated obsessives can make a cause appear more popular than it really is. Research shows how easy it is to create information silos and how few accounts are required to make a difference.
Licensing the extremism of the Extremely Online is dangerous because of the downstream effects. Matthew Yglesias suggested that the Democratic Party should cater to those with "qualms'' about trans rights, as he believed that the issue would cost the Democrats crucial votes. There wasn't a red wave of anti-trans backlash after the election. The belief of men like Yglesias in this silent majority that would vote in favor of this issue is due to online discourse that over emphasizes it. It's partly to blame because of the far-rightTwitter bubble. Mainstream sources get it.
The New York Times published a story about puberty blockers being taken by trans children. It's not unusual for reporters to follow a range of voices, but it's notable that Christina Jewett focused on this minor. The anti-trans extremists promoted and commented on the article.
There is a feedback loop between journalists and loud people. The Republican Party tried to weaponize trans people and created a climate of prejudice. The constant drumbeat of demoralizing discourse is causing the shattering depression. Real people are being affected by the laws that have been passed off. A small group of bigots in an echo chamber have been able to hurt a lot of innocent people.
The networks of anti-trans extremists are scheming to make consent in a unique 21st century way. It's on the cheap. Online they are better able to shadowbox well above their weight class because of the amount of targets they can swarm. The result is the illusion of a group of people. It is difficult to not feel overwhelmed if you are an individual trans person being harassed by many different accounts. If they were arrayed in person at a protest, they would look more pathetic.
The trick is to convince people that these online troll are just the tip of a larger ideological iceberg, giving voice to a silent majority of citizens for whom the genital inspection of children is their top priority in a year of war, plague, and an enduring cost-of- living crisis. The second half of this pas de Deux is where the self-referential discourse of this pantomiming minority in mainstream outlets attempts to get what they want.
We have all been treated to an example of how bad perception and reality are. A political environment tailor-made for Republican success at every level of government led, instead, to one embarrassing defeat after another because their candidates were trying to win on the platform rather than at the kitchen table.
There is something bleakly poetic about the fact that the Republican Party is embracing social media and it is suffocating.
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