Online extremism didn't emerge from nowhere, and it isn't staying in its lane. In this episode of Social Sleuth, we talk with Dr. Edwin Hodge, adjunct professor in Sociology at the University of Victoria, about how once-underground networks have gone global, the realities of moderating online spaces, and the lasting influence of conspiracy theories like QAnon.
Edwin breaks down Gamergate as a key turning point, the moment internet culture and political organizing collided in ways we're still living with. We also get into the strange and troubling symbiosis between the rise of Christian Nationalism and Trad Wife content online: what it reveals, why it resonates, and what it means for the shape of digital politics.
A clear-eyed, unsettling, and genuinely important conversation about where online extremism comes from, and where it's going.
Topics: online extremism, conspiracy theories, QAnon, Gamergate, Christian nationalism, trad wife, radicalization, online moderation, far right internet, digital politics, sociology of the internet
