Hours after a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, organized by white nationalists, turned deadly, President Donald Trump blamed "many sides" for the violence that transpired. Three days later, at an impromptu press conference at Trump Tower, the president doubled down on this message, condemning groups "on both sides" of the fighting. What about the alt-left that came charging at, as you say, at the alt-right? the president said.

Many people know the phrase alt-right, a term coined by white nationalist Richard Spencer to describe the white nationalist movement. But "alt-left" is a term that's recently floated around in various corners of the internet. It gained some popularity earlier this year, when violent riots erupted in Berkeley, California, during protests over an appearance by former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos at UC Berkeley.

White nationalist David Duke defined the term after President Trump referenced it Tuesday.

Fox News' Sean Hannity and InfoWars' Paul Joseph Watson have also offered their own definitions.

Ultimately, the intent seems to be to frame alt-left as the opposite of alt-right and create a false equivalence between groups on the far ends of the right and left. But here's the thing: No left-wing group has ever called itself the alt-left. And the groups smeared by the alt-left label don't include anything like the heinousness of overt white supremacism that has increasingly defined the alt-right.

Originally posted here:

What Is the 'Alt-Left'? For Starters, Not a Thing | WIRED