Daily Beast: “Two opposing internet counter-cultures defined by their unswerving allegiance to tradition, misogyny, bigotry, and homophobia have converged around an unlikely allying force: the Taliban. The alt-right and ‘akh-right’ – an alt-right inspired Islamist movement – have united around the Taliban’s ‘owning’ of America. Spread across platforms, these two movements are no longer regulated to the Chan Cultures they were birthed on but are now mainstreaming their discourse on platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, influencing debate in both political and religious circles. The rapid takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban over the past few weeks, culminating in the sacking of Kabul and a shoddy withdrawal of U.S. forces, has brought together these movements, which see eye-to-eye on the interventionist nature of the two-decade-long war in Afghanistan. While on the surface this may seem odd, it’s in many ways the culmination of years of convergence between the alt-right, the far right, incel communities, and Islamist messaging around the U.S. government, the LGBTQ+ community, liberals, and democracy.”

“What is abundantly clear is the ideological fluidity of Gen Z communities online. Even within groups such as the Groypers – alt-right white supremacists with a hard-on for Nick Fuentes – they sway between degrees of racism, but always seem to land on the central precepts of white supremacy. It is the concept of tradition that underpins both Islamist and alt-right support for the Taliban on Twitter. Like alt-Islamists who celebrate the Taliban’s ‘traditions,’ including shariah, the alt-right is also drawn to the group because of its stances on women. The support for a diminished role of women in public similarly bleeds over into Incel circles on Twitter, who then take it even further to an outright hatred of women.”