Creation of an Alt Left Boogeyman: Information Circulation and the Emergence of 'Antifa'
After 2016, how did antifa become known as one of the biggest threats in America? This chapter tracks data from social media and both mainstream and alternative narrative sources to begin charting the rise, circulation, and velocity of the legend of a thuggish antifa threat. Tracing the creation of the antifa narrative allows the authors to construct a picture revealing how these three particular kairotic moments were leveraged to turn protesters into violent actors threatening democracy, and how left leaning ideas will always be subsumed or overwhelmed in current media models.
Platforms, Protests, and the Challenge of Networked Democracy