DIGITALLY MEDIATED SPILLOVER AS A CATALYST OF RADICALIZATION: How Digital Hate Movements Shape Conservative Youth Activism

Abstract

Throughout the nation, moderate conservative youth organizations are radicalizing. Previous research attributes this to “entryism,” whereby extremists intentionally infiltrate and indoctrinate moderate organizations. Despite documented instances of entryism, it is an implausible explanation for radicalization at a national scale. This multisite ethnography supports an alternative explanation, “digitally mediated spillover,” which occurs when activists who participated in online social movements enter a new movement and share their ideology, tactical repertoires, culture, and social networks. At three field sites located in the West, North East, and South census regions, former members of the Alt-Right and Manosphere were observed as they joined a moderate student organization upon entering college. Although their original intention was merely to find community, extremists ultimately tried to radicalize their peers. At one of the field sites, they succeeded. This chapter explains how this occurred and addresses implications for the study of the social processes of online hate and social movement theory.