ABSTRACT
While far-right movements have traditionally used the internet as one tool in their toolbox, the internet holds an absolutely central role to the Alternative Right. Most of the influence of the movement can be attributed to its online activism. Some of the most well-known actions of the Alternative Right are its campaigns on social media, ranging from relatively common propaganda strategies, to more nefarious tactics of coordinated harassment and manipulation campaigns. This chapter explores some of these campaigns and strategies, from the use of “sockpuppet” accounts to “algorithmic activism,” used by the movement and discuss these in relation to the structure of the platforms they are conducted on. Although the Alternative Right is generally tech-savvy, it is not the only movement with technical skills. Therefore, these actions are put in the context of the features and tools provided by online platforms and how these are well suited to the metapolitical objective of the Alternative Right, including quantifiable measures of the efficacy of messaging, techno-libertarian notions of online freedom, and designs constructed to maximise users’ attention.
