So how does one distinguish between a genuine kill-all-the-scum Nazi, and a child who's pretending to be one, for the lulz? You get lulz from people who get upset. And you get lulz from people who agree with you. It's a win-win.
Ultimately, there's no way to tell. It's a textbook example of Poe's Law. And indeed, there's no observable difference. Maybe everyone behind Nazi sites are in it for the lulz. And/or for the money, or fame. You get the same fucked up social impacts, either way.
No, it's not. But it helps to put the phenomenon in context. The anomie of the young, especially young men, has always been hazardous. But now, with the Internet, it's chaotic around strange attractors. Such as the alt right. And ISIS. And undoubtedly other stuff that I'm not aware of yet.
Yes, this is all true. So you recognize there is a problem with 'angry young men', the question then becomes once these angry young men decide to band together guided by smart old men who aim to use them as tools in their arsenal whether or not you hold them responsible. Once they're over 18 as far as I'm concerned they are fair game. Old enough to vote: old enough to think.
Do you think various groups trying to influence politics and culture would try to manipulate this impressionable group? For the lulz is an easy way to sweep aside the very real, and likely, possibility that state actors manipulate these anonymous boards for their own ends.
So how does one distinguish between a genuine kill-all-the-scum Nazi, and a child who's pretending to be one, for the lulz? You get lulz from people who get upset. And you get lulz from people who agree with you. It's a win-win.
Ultimately, there's no way to tell. It's a textbook example of Poe's Law. And indeed, there's no observable difference. Maybe everyone behind Nazi sites are in it for the lulz. And/or for the money, or fame. You get the same fucked up social impacts, either way.