About

The Alt-right refers to a segment of right-wing conservative principles, as well as the faction of politicians and constituents, characterized by its vehment opposition to multiculturalism, feminism and socialism in the United States. Presented as an alternative to mainstream American conservatism, the alt-right is known for its vocal support for 2016 Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump, especially on political discussion boards like 4chan’s /pol/ and Reddit’s /r/The_Donald.

History

One of the earliest known uses of the term “alternative right” in the context of anti-establishment conservatism was in an address delivered by American political philosopher Paul Gottfried to the H.L. Mencken Club’s Annual Meeting titled “The Decline and Rise of the Alternative Right.” In April 2010, the blog Alternative Right^[6] was launched by paleoconservatives Richard Spencer and Colin Liddell, running for several years until it was shutdown in 2013.

Hillary Clinton’s Speech

On August 25th, 2016, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton delivered a speech criticizing Donald Trump for embracing radical segments of the right-wing, while blasting the alt-right as an “emerging racist ideology.”

“The de facto merger between Breitbart and the Trump campaign represents a landmark achievement for the alt-right. A fringe element has effectively taken over the Republican Party.”

During Clinton’s address, a /pol/^[7] user posted a thread revealing that he is a member of the audience at the event, to which another user suggested the OP to yell “Pepe” as to interrupt her speech. In the YouTube livestream (shown above), a man off the screen can be heard yelling “Pepe!” at approximately 56 minutes in.

#AltRightMeans

That day, the hashtag #AltRightMeans^[8] began trending on Twitter, initially circulated by critics of the political movement (shown below, left). Hours later, the hashtag was largely taken over by alt-right sympathizers (shown below, right).

Online Presence

On Spetember 4th, 2015, YouTuber Walt Bismarck posted a parody music video of the song “Under the Sea” from the Disney animated film The Little Mermaid titled “On the Alt Right” (shown below, left). On October 31st, YouTuber ramzpaul posted a video titled “We are the Alt Right” (shown below, right).

On March 23rd, YouTuber Sargon of Akkad posted a video titled “An Honest Look at the Alt Right” (shown below).

Reception

On December 27th, 2015, BuzzFeed^[3] published an article which identified the alt-right as a “white nationalist” movement. On January 21st, 2016, manosphere blogger
Roosh V published an article on his blog Return of Kings^[5] titled “5 Serious Problems With The Alt Right Movement.” On March 29th, Breitbart^[4] published an article by staff writers Allum Bokhari and Milo Yiannopoulos titled “An Establishment Conservative’s Guide to the Alt-Right,” which described different segments within the alt-right subculture.

Notable Figures

Donald Trump

2016 Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump is often praised by the alt-right for being an anti-establishment conservative politician or “Washington outsider.”

Milo Yiannopoulos

British journalist Milo Yiannopoulos is often grouped with the alt right, mostly for his support of Donald Trump’s presidency and for being an outspoken critic of third-wave feminism.

Related Memes

Cuckservative

Cuckservative, a portmanteau of cuck (or cuckold) and conservative, is a pejorative political ephitet often used by the alt-right when referring to mainstream conservatives that they accuse of being tolerant or open-minded towards some or all aspects of liberal values.

Search Interest

External References