The challenges of studying 4chan and the Alt-Right: 'Come on in the water's fine'. (January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Colley, Thomas; Moore, Martin
• Is Part Of: New media & society. Volume 24:Number 1(2022)
• Page Start: 5
• Page End: 30
• Publication Date: 2022-01
• Subjects: /pol -- 4chan -- Alt-Right -- discourse -- extremism -- ideology -- meme -- radicalisation -- social media; Mass media -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Mass media and culture -- Periodicals; Information technology -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Internet -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; 302.2305
• DOI: 10.1177/1461444820948803
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1461-4448

Abstract

In 2019, the authors led a workshop at King's College London examining how to study 4chan and assess their association with the Alt-Right. Unbeknownst to the authors, a participant was a 4chan user and started a mid-workshop thread on its notorious /pol/ (politically incorrect) board. It gained significant attention. Reviewing it later, the authors realised that this parallel thread illustrates perfectly the challenges researching 4chan – and similar – communities. We conducted discourse analysis on this unique dataset, providing an alternative perspective to predominant anthropological and informatic approaches. Our analysis enhances understanding of 'free-extremist' communities such as 4chan in several ways. It assesses how the /pol/ community responds to observation and provides new insights into roles influencers might have in radicalising others. It illustrates the value of discourse analysis in evaluating users' associations with the Alt-Right. Finally, it proposes ways researchers can overcome the challenges faced when analysing such communities.