How Extremists Weaponize Irony To Spread Hate

[Nevilledog]

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Tom Dreisbach
@TomDreisbach
Extremist Nick Fuentes frequently spreads white supremacist propaganda - including Holocaust denial - only to later claim he was "just joking."

"Irony is so important for giving a lot of cover and plausible deniability for our views," Fuentes has said.

How Extremists Weaponize Irony To Spread Hate
Some extremists weaponize irony and absurdity as a method for recruiting new members and avoiding criticism. Such tactics can mask the danger that extremists pose, experts say.
npr.org
1:52 PM · Apr 26, 2021

https://www.npr.org/2021/04/26/990274685/how-extremists-weaponize-irony-to-spread-hate

On a recent episode of his livestreamed show, the 22-year-old extremist Nick Fuentes repeated a formula that has won him a following with some of the youngest members of the far right. He went on an extended, violent and misogynistic rant, only to turn to the camera and add with a smirk, "Just joking!"

In this case, from the April 22 edition of Fuentes' show, America First, a viewer wrote in to ask Fuentes for advice on how to "punish" his wife for "getting out of line."

Fuentes responded, "Why don't you smack her across the face?"

The rant continued for minutes.

"Why don't you give her a vicious and forceful backhanded slap with your knuckles right across her face — disrespectfully — and make it hurt?" Fuentes went on. At one point, he pantomimed punching a woman in the face.

He then added, "No, I'm kidding, of course. Just kidding. Just a joke."

Fuentes was following a playbook popular among domestic extremists: using irony and claims of "just joking" to spread their message, while deflecting criticism.

*snip*

[mikeysnot]

1. Hilarious

Not.

[unblock]

2. Where's the irony?

Saying something horrible and then claiming to be joking may be an interesting rhetorical technique, but it's not irony.

[dflprincess]

3. I've always found conservatives to be irony deficient

Making an offensive comment and then claiming it was a joke is not irony.

[FakeNoose]

12. Because then polite people (like us) give them the benefit of the doubt

They really know how to work the crowd, don't they?

[flying_wahini]

4. The truth is buried in a joke. Anyone else remember that?

[I_UndergroundPanther]

5. I'd like to kick him in the balls

and when he bends forward reflexively , I'd have my fist ready knuckles ready to punch upward and break his fucking jaw.
Than when he drops I'll kick his ribs until he gets flail chest ..It would be hilarious.

[Carlitos Brigante]

10. That is hysterical! You sir, are the next Bill Burr... .. Ah, I see now that

it works.....

[ck4829]

6. I've seen some people claim that Brenton Tarrant's manifesto was "just a joke to troll the liberals"

Yeah, real funny.

[GoCubsGo]

7. "I was just joking" is a bullying tactic, not "irony."

And, the Right, not just their extremists, has been using this excuse all along. Call them out on their bigotry and hate, and that's the excuse they give. Been hearing that bullshit for decades from those cowards.

[BoringUsername]

8. I was just joking --- This was always Trump's defense

whenever he got in trouble too. I wish someone would tell these people that their jokes suck.

[FlyingPiggy]

9. This isn't irony. This is him passive aggressively hiding behind a "joke".

[Boomerproud]

11. Look the word up you soulless jerk.

Ooops...just kidding.🤪