Intellectual Dark Web

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The Intellectual Dark Web (IDW) is a neologism coined by economist Eric Weinstein to refer to an informal group of (mostly right-wing, libertarian, and centrist) pundits, media producers, academics, and so on, with the common thread linking all of them being a deeply reactionary and hostile attitude towards towards various social justice activist movements (such as Black Lives Matter) and liberal views.^[3] The term itself functions as a general meme. There is no actual organization, or movement which it represents. In other words, anyone can say they are a member, and no one has the authority to deny it.

Individuals associated with the term[edit]

• Eric Weinstein, American economist, mathematician, conspiracy theorist, and managing director of Peter Thiel's Thiel Capital.^[4]
• Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Somali-born American anti-Islam activist.
• Sam Harris, American neuroscientist and one of the "Four Horsemen" of New Atheism.
• Claire Lehmann, Australian alt-right editor-in-chief and founder of Quillette.
• Maajid Nawaz, British activist who advocates for a "moderate, secular Islam" and Trumpian conspiracy theories.^[5]
• Steven Pinker, American linguist, psychologist, and court witness for Jeffrey Epstein.^[6]
• Jordan Peterson, Canadian clinical psychologist and social conservative activist
• Joe Rogan, American Ultimate Fighting Championship commentator and host of The Joe Rogan Experience
• Dave Rubin, American libertarian/self-proclaimed "classical liberal" host of The Rubin Report
• Ben Shapiro, American conservative pundit, conspiracy theorist, former-Breitbart writer and co-founder of The Daily Wire
• Douglas Murray, British ultra-nationalist and conspiracy theorist.
• Michael Shermer, American science writer, editor-in-chief of the magazine Skeptic, and bicyclist
• Christina Hoff Sommers, American writer for American Enterprise Institute
• Bret Weinstein, (Eric's brother), American biologist and conspiracy theorist
• Heather Heying, (Bret's wife), American biologist, transphobe and conspiracy theorist

Newer non-core additions to the network include:^[7]

• Coleman Hughes, American conservative Quillette columnist affiliated with the Manhattan Institute and critic of CRT.
• Glenn Loury, American conservative economist affiliated with the Manhattan Institute, critic of CRT, and hosts "the Glenn Show" with John McWhorter.
• John McWhorter, American conservative linguist affiliated with the Manhattan Institute, and critic of CRT.
• James Damore, American Google employee turned reactionary clickbait publisher and outrage activist.
• Niall Ferguson, (Ayaan's husband), Scottish pseudohistorian and neoconservative.
• Debra Soh, Canadian neuroscientist, columnist for Quillette
• Bari Weiss,, former NYT columnist and founder of The Free Press newsletter

Patreon[edit]

After Sargon of Akkad was banned from Patreon, Rubin, Peterson and Harris left Patreon in protest.^[8] Since then, Rubin and Peterson have suggested creating a Patreon equivalent.^[9]

A gateway to alt-right radicalization[edit]

In 2019 a study from the Federal University of Minas Gerais by Manoel Horta Ribeiro et al. found the Intellectual Dark Web's YouTube channels were a gateway from the "alt-lite" to alt-right radicalization.^[10] The study looked at 331,000 videos that an algorithm had classified as right-wing, and analyzed 72 million YouTube comments.^[10]:4 A large number of those users who had posted comments on IDW channels later migrated to leaving comments on more radical YouTube channels.^[10]:7-8 As Ribeiro puts it, "there is migration among users from the Alt-lite and the I.D.W. to the Alt-right," confirming that less extreme right-wing content did indeed serve as a gateway of sorts for radicalization.^[11]

See also[edit]

• Koch Industries, who provide funding for numerous members of the IDW^[12]
• Dennis Prager, as many members have hosted PragerU videos, such as Shapiro,^[13][14][15] Rubin,^[16][17] Peterson^[18][19] and Sommers^[20][21][22]
• Alt-lite, the less impressive name given to them by the alt-right

External links[edit]

• Pinkerite: Steven Pinker, the Intellectual Dark Web and Race Science

References[edit]