Review by Kirkus Book Review
A pointed examination of the far right, from the director of American University's Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab. As Miller-Idriss notes, internet search algorithms can easily lead from innocent queries to nasty White supremacist corners of the web, and extreme right-wing radicalism has become normalized to the extent that such corners are beginning to seem like the mainstream. The "gateways," as she calls them, are sometimes surprising: For instance, there are brands of consumer products, especially fashion items, that carry specific right-wing symbolism, whether because the makers are so inclined politically or because "they have discovered…a niche, but profitable, market." These fashion brands have replaced the bovver boots and leather jackets of old, giving the young men--and it's almost always young, White men--who sport them a snappy look. Other places in the author's geography of recruitment include online multiplayer games (a huge surge in right-wing extremism followed Gamergate, when young men attacked women video game designers, a step in the evolution of the incel movement), music venues, and especially mixed martial arts training centers. "The MMA world," writes the author, "cultivates a set of positive emotions that appeals to youth searching for a sense of meaning and belonging, such as brotherhood, solidarity, loyalty, and community." Perhaps most surprisingly, a prominent locus of recruitment has become the college campus, centers of what the author calls "entryism," where mainstream political organizations such as college Republican clubs are taken over by White supremacists. Think tanks, evangelical churches, and publishing houses round out the mix of extreme-right-wing institutions. "Exposure to extremism requires no physical destination at all--its virtual spaces beam right into our homes and schools in social-media memes, imageboards, chatrooms, and online games," writes Miller-Idriss, but the real world is just as important, and it is in both realms that anti-fascist activists will have to fight. A timely book that calls for vigilance against extremism in hitherto unexpected corners, online and off. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
