If your friends aren’t talking about the recent Arizona State University fraternity leader mogging Clavicular, what are you doing?
I’m just kidding. If you don’t understand a word of what I said, you’re lucky. This new language used by netizens has come from relatively dark corners of the internet, such as “4chan” and niche boards of Reddit. Language and slang, for the most part, rise due to movements. In recent years, red-pill and black-pill rhetoric has skyrocketed on social media apps, such as X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram and TikTok.
For those who don’t know, black-pill originated in the early 2010s, and promotes the idea that society relies on the physical attraction of both men and women. All of these terms, red-pill and black-pill, fall under the “incel movement,” and its consequences are not only contained to the internet.
The most influential leaders of this movement—Nick Fuentes, Clavicular, the Tate Brothers, Myron Gaines and Sneako—have been gaining popularity through language like “foids,” “chads” and “jestermaxxing.” This group of men, who prey on insecure and vulnerable boys on the internet, spread hatefulideas, such as white nationalism and antisemitism through live streams, podcasts and different forms of short-form content. In particular, their streams have started a spike in antisemetic language that spreads far beyond the manosphere.
Israel, in particular its Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, has been the focus of many internet memes spread by both alt-right leaders and your average content creator, memes which display antisemetic imagery and language. Though many people on the internet claim that these jokes are “anti-Zionist,” they often extend into antisemitism. The effects of these videos talking about Tel Aviv trips and getting $7,000 from AIPAC has sadly resulted in a rise of antisemetic attacks in the United States.
The alt-right pipeline on apps like Tik-Tok and Instagram have become more accessible over the past few years. Personally, I’ve seen how interacting with this content can change someone’s moral and political views practically overnight. When you’re on the internet, pay attention to what you’re liking and interacting with, no matter how harmless a meme or joke may seem. At the end of the day, someone’s public content may mask more sinister feelings inside.
