[jrkatz]

White nationalists are trying to ruin the OK hand-sign for everybody else by posing for photos in large groups while making the OK hand-sign.

As far as I can tell they're attempting the following:

1. Poison the OK hand-sign in political contexts

2. Wait for a politician to use it, be it as a stooge (unaware of the new association) or as a dog-whistle.

3. Wait for the media to tie the white-nationalist association and politician's use of the symbol together

4. Cry foul: "You liberal media dogs are crazy, that's just the OK hand-sign!"

5. People who are unaware that white nationalists have been using the symbol grow their distrust of the media and may become more sympathetic to white nationalists. After all, the media was 'wrong' about the hand sign. What else could they be wrong about?

Because the white nationalists are inherently duplicitous, they see no problem communicating like this - in the open until challenged, at which point it becomes a 'joke', or a 'misunderstanding', or 'media overreach'.

It's not much of a hoax.

[nailer]

> White nationalists are trying to ruin the OK hand-sign for everybody else by posing for photos in large groups while making the OK hand-sign.

No they're not. People have been doing this for decades. They're not white nationalists.

It's a prank by 4/8chan users. Like 'rainbow parties' and 'thigh bridge' and any number of other things created to waste time. That you (and the NYT) believe it is falling into the trap and doing exactly what they want.

[jrkatz]

It's _like_ rainbow parties, except for the explicitly political bent that seems only to advance white nationalist motives/politics. Certainly, creation by 8chan users does not disprove white nationalism. If anything it makes it more believable. Have you seen the political discourse on 8chan lately? One of us has fallen into the trap but I'm not sure who.

[nailer]

> Have you seen the political discourse on 8chan lately?

Yep. 8chan is trash. There's undoubtedly some actual white nationalists there, there's also a massive amount of losers who need attention.

You and the NYT are taking what they say at face value, giving them exactly the attention they want, and rewarding their behavior ensuring there'll be more of it.

[whenchamenia]

It is literally a 4chan hoax, much like the recent seperate but equal rainbow flags. It's clever, even of grossly misanthropic. Never underestimate the effert bored teens will spend 'for the lulz'.

[krastanov]

"Bored teens" spreading white nationalist memes is still elevating white nationalism, no matter whether it is for "the lulz". "It is just a joke" is in no way an excuse for this behavior.

[DuskStar]

The meme, in this case, is that the OK sign is support for fascism/nazis/etc. That's the meme that the "bored teens" are spreading, and the meme that the NYT bought.