Daily Archives: March 2, 2023

2024 Libertarian Presidential Candidates – Who’s Running in 2024?

Posted: March 2, 2023 at 6:31 am

The 2024 Presidential race is a couple years away. It could be a pivotal election year for Libertarians the moment when we finally make a mark in politics. But, will we? Who are the 2024 Libertarian presidential candidates? Who else will run? Will Trump run again? And what about Joe Biden? Were all wondering what will happen in 2024, but one things for sure: 2024 is going to be an interesting presidential race.

Before I get into who our candidates are, let me explain what a Libertarian is. A lot of people have heard about Libertarians, but dont know what Libertarians believe. So, what is a Libertarian? That often depends on who you ask, but in my opinion, most people are libertarians or agree with much of the libertarian philosophy of live and let live. Libertarianism is a philosophy or belief system, not just a platform for a political party. You can be a libertarian without being in the Libertarian Party.

Libertarians believe in a small, fiscally conservative government. Libertarians are not anarchists (this is not to say that some arent). We believe in having laws and government, but that the scope and size of government should be limited. The role of the government should be limited to protecting people from harm and fraud not arbitrary rules or rules that enforce a groups cultural ideas.

Libertarians are generally conservative on fiscal issues and liberal on social issues. While you can be conservative in your own life, we dont believe in trying to enforce anyones lifestyle, morals, or choices on others. We love diversity and believe that no one group should try to control the choices of others through laws or government.

Theres no doubt the 2024 presidential race is one were all anticipating. But, will the Libertarians have a great candidate this time, or will we have a lack-luster, no-name, or not-so-libertarian candidate? I will be updating this post as time unfolds but these are the candidates that we think might run in 2024.

Right now the Libertarian Party only has two presidential candidates confirmed. There will be more candidates for sure, as this race is definitely one that Libertarians could do well in. So, whos running and who do we think our 2024 Libertarian presidential candidates will be?

Website: MiketerMaat.com

Mike ter Maat is a pro-reform police officer and an economics professor who graduated with a BS in Aeronautical Engineering and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He later went on to get his MS and Ph.D. degrees in Economics from George Washington University.

In the 2021-22 election cycle, Mike ran as the Libertarian candidate in a special Congressional election in Floridas District 20. He served as a police officer in Broward County from 2010-2021. Mike has worked in finance, economics, and education for banks, the White House, and other organizations. He started his own consulting business in 2002 where he provided professional education to bank executives. He ran this business until 2009.

Mike pledges to a Gold New Deal. He commits to the decentralization of authority and the power of our government. He has created a plan that includes ending the federal reserve, limiting government spending, and allowing states to have a constitutional option to remain in the Union for purposes of defense only.

Website: https://donate.lars24.com/

Lars Mapstead is a lifetime member of the Libertarian Party and an active Libertarian. Lars grew up on a farm, without electricity or indoor plumbing. Despite these challenges, he was able to found several successful internet companies. Now he spends his time in the Libertarian Party advocating for limited government and taxation.

He supports ranked-choice voting, cutting regulations, and term limits. He has a detailed plan to win an electoral vote for the Libertarian Party. He believes there is no better way for Libertarians to gain power than to be the deciding factor in the presidential vote.

Website: VoteChaseOliver.com

Chase Oliver is the Libertarian candidate who disrupted the Georgia Senate race by forcing a run-off. Hes been called the most influential Libertarian in the US right now byRolling Stones, and hes just announced that hes exploring the possibility of running as the Libertarian Partys presidential nominee.

Ina videohe released on Friday, Oliver announced that he was forming an exploratory committee to seek the Libertarian presidential nomination. He is a likely contender for the Libertarian nomination because of his ability to garner positive publicity and connect with ordinary voters.

Unlike other potential candidates, Chase Oliver is adamantly pro-choice when it comes to bodily autonomy, not just for vaccines, but on the issue of abortion. This could become a deciding factor for many Libertarians and voters in 2024.

He is charismatic, energetic, and speaks in a way that voters resonate with. With a small budget, he was able to garner 2 percent of the vote in Georgia. He was one of the most successful candidates during the 2022 election cycle, which earned him a lot of media attention. Could his appeal translate into the party nomination? Many of his fans think so.

Learn more about Chase Oliver by visiting his website,VoteChaseOliver.com. You can also follow him onTwitterto learn more about him.

There are many potential candidates for the Libertarian nomination in 2024. Several Libertarian candidates have expressed interest in running, and many within the party would like to see them run. However, if they do decide to run they will need support from within the party to win the nomination. These are the three most talked about Libertarians. They hold a lot of promise in leading us to victory in 2024 if they decide to run.

Also Read: Chase Oliver, the Libertarian Who Forced a Run-Off in Georgia, Is Considering Presidential Run

Justin Amash, former congressman from Michigan, is one of the most popular Libertarians in the Libertarian party. In 2020, he formed an exploratory committee to seek the Libertarian Party presidential nomination. However, he decided shortly after launching the committee that 2020 wasnt the right time for him to run. Though many Libertarians want him to run, Amash has repeatedly told party members and the media that this isnt on his radar right now.

In spite of this, many Libertarians are still hopeful he will run in 2024, myself included. I believe he would consider running in the 2024 election if the timing made sense and he was in a position to run in a viable race. He expressed this sentiment to media outlets like USA Today saying, I want to do what I can to work from the outside to change things because Ive tried the inside and right now I cant get much traction.

I dont know if Justin Amash will run in 2024, but he is my ideal candidate. He has a strong sense of integrity and the ability to appeal to all types of people, including Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians. With strong delegate and financial support from the Libertarian Party, I think he would be their best candidate.

Amash does not have a campaign website. He is not officially running, but he hosts a podcast where you get to know him better. You can listen to The Justin Amash Podcast here or follow him on Twitter to learn more about him.

Also read: Will Justin Amash Run for President in 2024?

Dave Smith is a New York stand-up comedian and libertarian commentator. He has appeared on Fox News, CNN, and many other popular media outlets. Hes known for his thought-provoking comedy and says he represents a new generation of pundits. He is a well-liked member of the Mises Caucus and a rising star in the Libertarian Party.

Smith has name recognition that is on par with Amash and is a first choice for many Mises Caucus members. Like many other Mises Caucus members, he became a Libertarian because of the Ron Paul movement. He likes Ron Paul because he challenged him to think differently about the government. He inspired him to read and learn more about liberty through authors like Rothbard, Mises, and Friedman.

He believes the Libertarian Party must fight harder against the tyranny of big tech monopolies which limit free speech and promote political correctness. Hes called overregulation of misinformation the biggest threat to liberty. He has also been an outspoken critic of Covid lockdowns and mask mandates.

Smith is appealing for a few reasons. One of them is that he attracts millennials with his charisma and humor. The millennial voter block may prove to be the deciding factor in the 2024 election. Although he has not stated publicly that he will seek the Libertarian nomination, he has said that its a possibility. To learn more about Dave Smith, you can follow his podcast Part of the Problem, where he discusses current events, government and foreign policy.

Also read: Dave Smith 2024 Will He Be the Next Libertarian Presidential Candidate?

Spike Cohen is a Libertarian activist and entrepreneur. In 2020, Spike Cohen was the running mate of Jo Jorgensen. He has a large social media following and is enthusiastically supported by nearly all Libertarians. He has not expressed an interest in running for president yet, but many in the party believe he would be the best choice.

There is a strong case for Spike Cohen as the Libertarian presidential candidate if he chooses to run. He is well-liked. He has an active presence in the media and can commit to campaigning full-time. He also has a background in web design and marketing.

Cohen started his web design company when he was still a teenager and retired from it in 2017. He now travels the country training Libertarians on how to run their campaigns and promotes a positive and principled message of libertarianism on social media, YouTube, and media appearances. He is what we Libertarians call a home-grown Libertarian, without the baggage of coming from the Republican or Democrat party.

Although its not clear if Cohen would even consider the nomination, he would be supported by most Libertarians if he was selected. Spike currently co-owns a news and entertainment company called Muddied Waters Media. You can also find him on YouTube at You Are the Power. Like most Libertarians, Spike is committed to working towards the partys goal of a world set free in our lifetime.

Larry Sharpe is a former marine and popular Libertarian from New York. He has not publicly stated any intention to run as a Libertarian presidential candidate in 2024. However, he has a lot of supporters in the Libertarian community who would support him if he decided to run as our Libertarian presidential nominee.

Sharpe is a successful entrepreneur who started and sold a trucking and distribution business. Hes also been a leadership coach who has helped other entrepreneurs, executives, and companies to develop stronger leadership and team-building skills. Hes been a guest instructor at universities including Yale and Columbia University.

He is highly respected in the Libertarian community for his grassroots campaigning and activism. As a Libertarian,he ran for governor of New York in 2018 and 2022. He was also a candidate for the Libertarian Vice Presidential nomination in 2022.

At this point, he hasnt mentioned anything about running as a presidential candidate in 2024. While it seems unlikely to me that he is interested in this role right now, I think anything is possible between now and our 2024 convention.

You can learn more about Larry Sharpe atLarrySharpe.com.

Former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard appears to be preparing for a run for president. She hasnt announced anything, but her recent departure from the Democrat party and subsequentcampaigning for MAGA Republicanscertainly hinted at a presidential run in 2024.

Shes also launched her own YouTube channel,The Tulsi Gabbard Show, which already has thousands of subscribers. As I mentioned in my video about her, YouTube is the largest social media platform for young voters.

I think she is keenly aware of the demographics she needs to win an election. This is also why I believe shes targeted MAGA Republicans. She and Trump may both appeal to the same group of voters voters who are fed up with politics as usual. Even with Trump announcing his own run for president, aligning with his base may help her if she decides to run herself.

She is well-liked by many Libertarians. On her show, she spoke with Ron Paul, a prominent figure in the Libertarian community. The two discussed civil liberties and how they are under attack in the U.S. She also changed her views on the second amendment. It looks like she is realigning her political views to attract a wider base of voters, including Libertarians.

At this point, it is unlikely that she will run as a Libertarian. It appears she is trying to win over Republican voters. Still, she isnt a Republican and has views that dont fit into any of the major parties. This is why some think she will run as an independent or third-party candidate and possibly as a Libertarian.

Historically, the Libertarian Party has not performed well in presidential races. In 2016, the party had its best showing ever with candidate Gary Johnson. Although he only received 3.3 percent of the vote nationally, this was a record-setting campaign for the party.

In the United States, many people are unhappy with the two-party system. Pew reports that almost half of younger adults wish they had more parties to choose from. This is most felt by millennials, who will have the biggest impact on the next election. With many young adults unhappy with how Biden has handled the economy, this could be the right time for a strong Libertarian presidential candidate to enter the race as an alternative.

We know that many in the U.S. are dissatisfied with the two-party system. Pew Research reports that nearly half of younger adults wish they had more parties to choose from. This discontent is most felt by millennials, who will have the biggest impact on the next election. With many young adults unhappy with how Biden is handling the economy, this could be the right time for a third party to shake up the presidential race.

Libertarians have reason to be optimistic in 2024. But, with the events currently taking place in the Libertarian Party, its hard to say if any candidate will have the funding or ballot access needed to win. It is now more important than ever for Libertarians to be engaged and active in their state parties.

In 2024, Libertarians will hold a convention to select the presidential and vice presidential candidates. The convention will be held in Washington, DC. To serve as a delegate at the national convention, you must be selected by your state party to represent your state as a delegate at National.

If you are not involved in the Libertarian Party, I hope you will get involved. If you are new to politics, I strongly encourage you to join my Facebook group, Pattys American Integrity and Liberty Group. We are a group of friendly people from all over the country. My goal is to help you learn about libertarianism and connect with like-minded, principled, positive people.

Help me spread the message of liberty to more people. Take a second to support Patty for Liberty on Patreon!

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2024 Libertarian Presidential Candidates - Who's Running in 2024?

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Alt Right: A Primer on the New White Supremacy | ADL

Posted: at 6:30 am

The Alt Right

Origins of the term

White supremacistRichard Spencer, who is President and Creative Director at the National Policy Institute, a tiny white supremacist organization, coined the term alternative right in August 2008 in an article in Takis Magazine, a far-right publication.

At the time, Spencer was using alternative right to refer to people on the right who distinguished themselves from traditional conservatives by opposing, among other things, egalitarianism, multiculturalism and open immigration. That same year, Paul Gottfried, a Jewish paleo-conservative, employed the term alternative right when he gave a speech entitled, The Decline and Rise of the Alternative Right, at the H.L. Mencken Clubs Annual Meeting in November 2008. For this reason, some sources credit Gottfried with originating the term.

Spencer further popularized the term when he chose Alternative Right as the name for an online publication that debuted in 2010. Spencer shut the website down in 2013, but it was soon re-launched by Colin Liddell and Andy Nowicki, former writers forAlternative Right. Spencer went on to found another journal,Radix. BothAlternative Right (rebranded as Affirmative Right)andRadixare forums for racists, antisemites and others who identify with the alt right.

What is the ideology of the alt right?

Alt right adherents identify with a range of different ideologies, all of which center on white identity. Many claim to be Identitarians, a term that originated in France with the founding of theBloc Identitairemovement and its youth counterpart,Generation Identitaire. Identitarians espouse racism and intolerance under the guise of preserving the ethnic and cultural origins of their respective counties. American Identitarians, including Richard Spencer, claim to want to preserve European-American (i.e., white) culture in the U.S.

As Michael McGregor, a writer and editor forRadix,wrote in February 2015, Identitarians want the preservation of our identity--the cultural and genetic heritage that makes us who we are. Identitarians reject multiculturalism or pluralism in any form.

Others in the alt right identify as so-called radical traditionalists, people who want to preserve what they claim are traditional Christian values but from a uniquely white supremacist perspective. Some inthe alt right identify as white nationalists who want to preserve the white majority in the U.S., claiming that whites losing their majority status is equivalent to white genocide. They issue mendacious propaganda on subjects like immigration and black crime as evidence of whites imperiled status.

Another segment of the alt right refers to themselves as neo-reactionaries (those who reject liberal democracy and ideas associated with the Enlightenment. Some neo-reactionaries refer to their theories as the Dark Enlightenment.) Others call themselves race realists or alternately HBD advocates, a reference to human biodiversity (a belief that ones race governs traits such as behavior and intelligencewith non-whites being inferior to whites). However they define themselves, alt righters reject egalitarianism, democracy, universalism and multiculturalism.

Many alt righters are also blatantly antisemitic and blame Jews for allegedly promoting anti-white policies such as immigration and diversity.

In 2015, alt righters began disparaging members of the conservative movement with the derogatory termcuckservative, a combination of conservative and cuckold, that is used by white supremacists to describe a white conservative who putatively promotes the interests of Jews and non-whites over those of whites. The alt right also refers disparagingly to the mainstream conservative movement as Conservatism, Inc. or Conservative, Inc., in an effort to highlight its associations with wealthy donors (whom the white supremacists dismiss as pro-immigration globalists whose policies undermine white nationalism in America).

Who makes up the alt right?

The alt right is an extremely loose movement, made up of different strands of people connected to white supremacy. One body of adherents is the ostensibly intellectual racists who create many of the doctrines and principles of the white supremacist movement. They seek to attract young educated whites to the movement by highlighting the achievements and alleged intellectual and cultural superiority of whites. They run a number of small white supremacist enterprises, including organizations, online publications and publishing houses. These includeNational Policy Institute, run by Richard Spencer; Counter Currents Publishing, run by Greg Johnson; American Renaissance, run byJared Taylor; and The Right Stuff, a website that features numerous podcasts with a number of contributors.

Alt righters use terms like culture as substitutes for more divisive terms such as race, and promote Western Civilization as a code word for white culture or identity. They tend to avoid explicit white supremacist references like the14 words,a slogan used by neo-Nazis and other hardcore white supremacists. While alt righters share the sentiment behind the 14 words theyre more inclined to talk about preserving European-American identity.

The Groypers are the latest alt right group to grab media attention. This loose network of alt right figures want to normalize their racist and antisemitic views, and are undertaking an organized effort to publicly lambast mainstream conservative organizations like Turning Point USA (TPUSA) for failing to promote an America First agenda and for not being adequately pro white.

The subculture of the alt right

The alt right also has its own subculture and language and both tend to attract young, white men. Many of these young men are active in the Chan world, including 4Chan, 8Chan (now defunct) and Reddit. These message boards, where most people post anonymously, are a key source of internet memes and trolling efforts, which often target women and minorities. For example, it is common to find memes that belittle the Holocaust and depict well-known Jewish figures, among others, being gassed. The memes creators hold that bigoted humor and irony help attract new followers to the alt right.

Another aspect of the alt right subculture is its connection to the online world of misogyny known broadly as the manosphere. Men in this movement believe they are being stripped of power by women and pro-feminist social structures. They also are hostile to women on a personal level, with some believing that women are objects to be possessed and used for sexual gratification, while others resent women for their own inability to attract them or to form meaningful relationships with them.

One incident that preceded the advent of the alt right but anticipated its misogyny was Gamergate. In 2014, males in the gaming community expressed hostility and resentment toward certain female gamers and attacked and threatened them online. This pushed a number of women to leave that community. Gamergate showed alt right adherents the effectiveness of online harassment campaigns against their perceived enemies.

Alt right vs. alt lite

In 2015 and 2016, a number of people who considered themselves part of the alt right were not white supremacists, but held certain views that aligned with white supremacist ideology: they were anti-immigrant, anti-globalism, anti-feminism and believed that the left and/or liberals are actively working to destroy American culture.

These people became known as the alt lite. In late 2016, the alt right and alt lite definitively split when people associated with the alt lite, including Mike Cernovich and Lucien Wintrich, began to distance themselves from the negative publicity surrounding the alt rights white supremacist views. The split became very clear after Richard Spencer and some of his followers were caught on video giving Nazi salutes during a National Policy Institute conference shortly after the 2016 election.

The Charlottesville Backlash

The 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, was a peak moment for the alt right. The event brought together between 500 and 600 white supremacists, including Klan members, neo-Nazis and racist skinheads. A torchlit rally the night before the event was attended largely by alt right adherents, and the next days gathering was the largest public white supremacist event in decades.

The alt rights moment of triumph was cut short, however, when a white supremacist named James Fields used his car to murder counter-protester Heather Heyer, and wound many others.

The repercussions were immediate for the alt right, and for the larger white supremacist community. Scores of them were doxxedtheir real identities exposed and as a result, some were fired from their jobs, had to leave their universities, or were rejected by their families or romantic partners. Many white supremacists social media accounts and websites were taken off line and some were kicked off popular crowdfunding websites, eliminating a key income source.

More than two years after Charlottesville, efforts to deplatform white supremacists continue, even as many have migrated to newer, less-scrutinized platforms like Discord and Telegram.

Alt right groups have also turned away from large rallies and have focused on distributing white supremacist propaganda, particularly on college campuses, and holding small flash demonstrations and private events.

In addition to criminal cases, Unite the Right organizers, including alt right leaders, have been dogged by civil lawsuits at both the state and federal levels, and are accused of conspiring to plan the rally and promote violence in Charlottesville.

Lawsuits are not the only irritant affecting white supremacists since Unite the Right. In July 2018, Richard Spencer was refused entry into Europe while en route to Sweden to speak at an alt right conference. Jared Taylor was banned from Europe in March 2019 and Greg Johnson was deported from Norway in May 2019.

Meanwhile, alt right leader Spencer, who helped spearhead the events in Charlottesville, has become increasingly unpopular in the alt right due in part to the perception that he failed to capitalize on the energy generated by Unite the Right.

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Alt Right: A Primer on the New White Supremacy | ADL

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The Dangerous Subtlety of the Alt-Right Pipeline

Posted: at 6:30 am

In recent years, adherents to the alt-right, a radically nationalist and xenophobic faction of the American right wing, have increasingly made their presenceknown, both in the digital sphere and in the streets. But while the term alt-right may evoke images of its most prominent partisans white supremacists and neo-Nazis in practice, it is a much more dangerously complex spectrum of political views.

Despite this, most discussions of online radicalization focus largely around the descent into these extremist groups, and not the subtle ways in which the echo chambers and deliberate isolation of the alt-rights indoctrination networks operate. These networks, collectively known as the alt-right pipeline, are especially dangerous to young men, but a narrow discussion of the pipelines threat means that the full scope of the issue is rarely addressed. From the violent extremes to the tamer, but much broader, wing of the alt-lite (a faction dominated by popular conservative commentators and public firebrands), the same tactics are used to exploit and radicalize the rising generation. I speak from personal experience when I say that failing to address the alt-right pipeline as a complex and multidimensional issue only serves to make it stronger.

The conventional wisdom is that the alt-right pipeline targets white men who are angry at the world, a group that originally self-identified as involuntarily celibate, birthing the abbreviation incel. These observers rightfully point out the pervasive misogyny of the alt-right, and treat it as a vehicle and prerequisite for radicalization. While this interpretation of the alt-right, one that emphasizes the pipelines exploitation of latent misogyny and sexual frustration through male bonding gone horribly awry, is accurate in many cases, it cannot be applied to every case of alt-right internet radicalization. I, for example, was only thirteen when my fall down the pipeline began. My fatal element was not male rage but self-doubt.

For most of my childhood, I was incredibly susceptible to peer pressure. I developed a personal identity, but my public identity was often whatever I thought would fit in best. The problem was only exacerbated when I hit puberty. I was an atheist when my predominantly Catholic friends were bonding over teaching religious education classes at their churches, a progressive but only beginning to understand the importance of what that meant, and starting to come to terms with what I now know to be my bisexuality. At the time, I was unsure of who I was supposed to be, or even who I was.

This was around the same time that YouTube began to play a larger role in my life, and there, I found my gateway drug to the alt-right: Dave Rubin. In Rubin, I saw a vision of myself; he was an openly gay atheist man who called himself a classical liberal. I began watching the Rubin Report on YouTube religiously, and slowly but surely bought into his message: the modern lefts obsession with identity politics went too far. The assertion was straightforward enough for me to understand, and having next to no frame of reference with which to refute it, I did the only thing I thought epistemically sound: accept it as true.

I was working my way through Rubins content when I found his multi-part interview with alt-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos, during which Yiannopoulos half-heartedly described African-Americans as being the last oppressed group in the United States. I had no experience with the nuance of condemnable views in American politics, so even Yiannaopouloss begrudging admission of any form of systemic racism was enough to convince me that he was worth more attention than I previously thought. With Yiannopouloss points going unchallenged, I was led to believe that his rhetoric held a legitimate place in the political spectrum. Once again, with no frame of reference to do otherwise, I accepted that I must have been wrong about him, and considered myself responsible for learning more about his perspective.

I gradually cycled through the videos that my new, extremely skewed frame of reference deemed acceptable, avoiding only the most flagrant content. By then, however, YouTube had worked its magic and determined what would appeal to me most moving forward. Videos recommended through the YouTube algorithm account for 70 percent of time spent on the site. Without thinking, I let the up next timer run down, and I was directed to the next video then the next, each more aggressive than the last.

And so began a months-long tumble down the alt-right pipeline, but I was never able to acknowledge that I was trapped. I still considered myself a progressive; in my mind, I was not buying into the alt-rights rhetoric, I was learning their arguments to make my progressivism stronger. But I was more easily persuaded than I knew, and even if my intentions were sound, Ben Shapiro spoke too quickly and Steven Crowder too aggressively for me to be able to process what I was hearing beyond a superficial level. My teenage mind could not keep up, and without any conscious understanding, I was cheering along with Jordan Peterson as he destroyed feminism and as SJWs were owned with facts and logic. Before I could think through what I had watched, I was onto the next video, and my internal understanding of the world became echoes of Louder with Crowder, the Daily Wire, and PragerU.Assuming I was merely developing a more nuanced understanding of the world, the true weight of what I was watching never set in with me. I began referring to myself as a social conservative, but never publicly. I figured discussing it with my friends was a non-starter; after all, in my mind, they had fallen victim to the machinations of the radical left. I was the enlightened one.

But even as I tumbled headfirst down the alt-right pipeline, I never fell far enough to seal myself into a true echo chamber. In fact, what I broadly defined as my social conservatism rarely left YouTube. The outside world continued around me unaffected; the only impact was in how I saw it. I certainly never shared these hateful views with anyone, because on some subconscious level, I still knew that they were unacceptable for a reason.

I resigned myself to the fact that I would forever be misunderstood, because the alt-right only knows, and therefore only teaches, two emotions: anger and fear. Both of these are generalized and are used to target, broadly, the unknown; anything the alt-right does not understand, like, or benefit from, it views as inherently dangerous. In my time, the prime example of this was the concept of intersectionality. I never learned the true definition of intersectionality, that racial, ethnic, and class identities intersect with one another and should be included in progressive movements. Instead, I learned Ben Shapiros definition, that according to current leftist orthodoxy, your opinion only matters relative to your identity.

I began to see the world the way those commentators saw it. I felt threatened where there was no threat, attacked where there was no attacker, and defensive of this new identity I had been given, an identity I had never wanted to have. The world I experienced and the world I saw were fundamentally disconnected. Overwhelmed, I sank into a depression. Their anger and fear had broken me, but it had not made me angry or afraid. It had just made me sad.

In the end, that disconnect was what saved me from sinking into the fascism and white supremacy of the alt-rights public persona. Real life is not as rapid-fire or one-sided as alt-right YouTube, and when I found my peers discussing the ideas that I had been indoctrinated to believe, I realized that the people I respected had clear and concise refutations to each of those ideas. The pipeline had given me definitions of things like intersectionality, social justice, and even feminism that were dangerously inaccurate, and when I actually began challenging the views pressed upon me, they fell like dominoes.

During my time in the alt-right pipeline, I found myself echoing reactionary talking points because I had been told to see conflict where none was necessary. I was inexperienced, and that made me the alt-rights perfect target.

If we as a society are to genuinely address the root causes of the alt-right pipeline, we must come to terms with what it actually is. While it often capitalizes on the worst of human impulses, it also capitalizes on naivete and ignorant innocence, regardless of age or circumstance. It looks different for everyone, from the veteran told to fear racial replacement by Tucker Carlson to the teenager who lingered too long on a promoted Will Witt video on Facebook. For those who know no better, the alt-right is a comprehensive and comprehensible way of understanding the world.

Refutations and rebuttals of alt-right talking points must also be adapted to the digital sphere. Right-wing pundits and commentators have the most popular podcasts, Facebook pages, and YouTube channels, meaning that they are often the first thing a person genuinely looking for political discourse will find. The alt-right has already adapted to the internet and is using their head-start to indoctrinate a generation. To combat this, viable alternatives to the alt-rights demagogic rhetoric must be available to discourage people from internalizing its narrative.

Lastly, the alt-right pipeline must be addressed as a public health issue. I was never happier when I found my identity in the alt-right than I had been before or than I am now. Caught in the alt-right spiral, I told myself the world misunderstood me, when in reality, I had just cut myself off from it. My mental health only recovered when I escaped the pipeline.

Falling down the alt-right pipeline is an intensely personal process, and it must be addressed as a personal issue. But more importantly, it must be acknowledged that the alt-right pipeline doesnt lead anywhere: It just keeps descending. And while that means it will become harder and harder to address with time, it also means no one is ever too far gone.

Returning from the alt-right pipeline was without question the greatest triumph of my adolescent life. Only then was I able to fully appreciate the rich diversity of our world and understand the nuances necessary to make genuine progress. More than ever before, too, I was able to understand myself, and fully embrace who I truly was, not the person the alt-right told me I should be.

The internet is still largely in its infancy, but the alt-right and its intermediaries have already been able to establish a funnel to create new acolytes. To combat it, we must first understand it, in all of its complexity.

Image by Ales Nesetril is licensed under the Unsplash License.

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The Alt-Right Manipulated My Comic. Then A.I. Claimed It.

Posted: at 6:30 am

Many artists are not completely against the technology but felt blindsided by the lack of consideration for our craft. Being able to imitate a living artist has obvious implications for our careers, and some artists are already dealing with real challenges to their livelihood. Concept artists create works for films, video games, character designs and more. Greg Rutkowski, a hugely popular concept artist, has been used in a prompt for Stable Diffusion upward of 100,000 times. Now, his name is no longer attached to just his own work, but it also summons a slew of imitations of varying quality that he hasnt approved. This could confuse clients, and it muddies the consistent and precise output he usually produces. When I saw what was happening to him, I thought of my battle with my shadow self. We were each fighting a version of ourself that looked similar but that was uncanny, twisted in a way to which we didnt consent.

It gets darker. The LAION data sets have also been found to include photos of extreme violence, medical records and nonconsensual pornography. Theres a chance that somewhere in there lurks a photo of you. There are some guardrails for the more well-known A.I. generators, such as limiting certain search terms, but that doesnt change the fact that the data set is still rife with disturbing material, and that users can find ways around the term limitations. Furthermore, because LAION is open source, people are creating new A.I. generators that dont have these same guardrails and that are often used to make pornography.

In theory, everyone is at risk for their work or image to become a vulgarity with A.I., but I suspect those who will be the most hurt are those who are already facing the consequences of improving technology, namely members of marginalized groups. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, for instance, has an entire saga of deep-fake nonconsensual pornography attached to her image. I can only imagine that some of her more malicious detractors would be more than happy to use A.I. to harass her further. In the future, with A.I. technology, many more people will have a shadow self with whom they must reckon. Once the features that we consider personal and unique our facial structure, our handwriting, the way we draw can be programmed and contorted at the click of a mouse, the possibilities for violations are endless.

Ive been playing around with several generators, and so far none have mimicked my style in a way that can directly threaten my career, a fact that will almost certainly change as A.I. continues to improve. Its undeniable; the A.I.s know me. Most have captured the outlines and signatures of my comics black hair, bangs, striped T-shirts. To others, it may look like a drawing taking shape.

I see a monster forming.

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The Alt-Right Manipulated My Comic. Then A.I. Claimed It.

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AI Is The New Electricity: Bank Of America Picks 20 Stocks To Cash In On ChatGPT Hype – Forbes

Posted: at 6:28 am

AI Is The New Electricity: Bank Of America Picks 20 Stocks To Cash In On ChatGPT Hype  Forbes

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AI Is The New Electricity: Bank Of America Picks 20 Stocks To Cash In On ChatGPT Hype - Forbes

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