:/pol/

{{Infobox website

| name = /pol/

| logo = Politically_incorrect_board_4chan.png

| logo_alt = /pol/ - Politically Incorrect

| logo_size = 300

| url = {{Official URL}}

| alexa =

| commercial = Yes

| type = 4chan imageboard

| language = English

| registration = Optional

| owner = Hiroyuki Nishimura

| author =

| founder = Christopher "moot" Poole{{cite book |last1=Lagorio-Chafkin |first1=Christine |title=We Are the Nerds: The Birth and Tumultuous Life of REDDIT, the Internet's Culture Laboratory |date=2 October 2018 |publisher=Little, Brown Book Group |page=323 |isbn=978-0-349-41635-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UwpUDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT323 |access-date=15 July 2024}}

| launch_date = {{start date and age|2011|10|23}}

| current_status = Offline

| key_people = RapeApe{{Cite web |title=The Man Who Helped Turn 4chan Into the Internet's Racist Engine |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7aap8/the-man-who-helped-turn-4chan-into-the-internets-racist-engine |first=Rob |last=Arthur |access-date=2022-07-15 |website=Vice |date=2 November 2020}}

| revenue =

}}{{Discrimination sidebar}}

/pol/, short for Politically Incorrect,{{Cite journal |last1=Papasavva |first1=Antonis |last2=Zannettou |first2=Savvas |last3=De Cristofaro |first3=Emiliano |last4=Stringhini |first4=Gianluca |last5=Blackburn |first5=Jeremy |date=2020 |title=Raiders of the Lost Kek: 3.5 Years of Augmented 4chan Posts from the Politically Incorrect Board |url=https://ojs.aaai.org/index.php/ICWSM/article/view/7354/7208 |journal=Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media |language=en |publisher=Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence |volume=14 |pages=885–894 |doi=10.1609/icwsm.v14i1.7354 |doi-access=free |arxiv=2001.07487 |issn=2334-0770}}{{Cite news |last=Vincent |first=James |date=8 June 2022 |title=YouTuber trains AI bot on 4chan's pile o' bile with entirely predictable results |work=The Verge |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/8/23159465/youtuber-ai-bot-pol-gpt-4chan-yannic-kilcher-ethics |access-date=16 July 2022}} is an anonymous political discussion imageboard on 4chan.{{Cite book |last=Merrin |first=William |title=Trump's Media War |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2019 |isbn=978-3319940694 |editor-last=Happer |editor-first=Catherine |location=Cham, Switzerland |chapter=President Troll: Trump, 4Chan and Memetic Warfare |pages=201–226 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-94069-4_13 |s2cid=158349744 |editor2-last=Hoskins |editor2-first=Andrew |editor3-last=Merrin |editor3-first=William}}{{Cite journal |last=Elley |first=Ben |date=March 2021 |title='The rebirth of the West begins with you!'—Self-improvement as radicalisation on 4chan |journal=Humanities and Social Sciences Communications |language=en |publisher=Springer Nature |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=67 |doi=10.1057/s41599-021-00732-x |issn=2662-9992 |doi-access=free}} As of 2022, it was the most active board on the site.{{Cite book |last1=Hagen |first1=Sal |chapter=Dutch junk news on Reddit and 4chan/pol |last2=Jokubauskaitė |first2=Emilija |date=2021-01-18 |title=The Politics of Social Media Manipulation |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |isbn=978-90-485-5167-5 |pages=174, 180, 188, 202–203, 207 |language=en |doi=10.1515/9789048551675-007 |doi-access=free}}{{Cite news |last=Macaulay |first=Thomas |date=8 June 2022 |title=An AI chatbot trained on 4chan has sparked outrage and fascination |work=TNW |publisher=The Financial Times |url=https://thenextweb.com/news/ai-chatbot-trained-on-4chan-pol-automates-bigotry-at-scale |access-date=16 July 2022}}{{Cite book |last1=Tuters |first1=Marc |url=https://publish.iupress.indiana.edu/projects/digital-hate |title=Digital Hate: The Global Conjuncture of Extreme Speech |last2=Hagen |first2=Sal |date=2021 |publisher=Indiana University Press |others=Sahana Udupa, Iginio Gagliardone, Peter Hervik |isbn=978-0-253-05925-3 |location=Bloomington, Indiana |chapter=Us and (((Them))): Extreme Memes and Antisemitism on 4chan |oclc=1267403418 |quote=[/pol/] was connected to various acts of extreme violence (Hankes and Amend 2018)... |chapter-url=https://publish.iupress.indiana.edu/read/digital-hate/section/1694cd0d-ce98-4107-98ba-908bc62c4d6d#ch5}} It has had a substantial impact on Internet culture. It has acted as a platform for far-right extremism;{{Cite journal |last=Corsi |first=Giulio |date=2021-07-09 |title=Climate change communication on 4chan's /pol/ board 2015-2019: An automated content analysis |journal=First Monday |language=en |volume=26 |issue=8 |doi=10.5210/fm.v26i8.11082 |issn=1396-0466 |doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal |last1=Colley |first1=Thomas |last2=Moore |first2=Martin |date=1 January 2022 |title=The challenges of studying 4chan and the Alt-Right: 'Come on in the water's fine' |journal=New Media & Society |language=en |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=5–30 |doi=10.1177/1461444820948803 |issn=1461-4448 |doi-access=free}} the board is notable for its widespread racist, white supremacist, antisemitic, Islamophobic, misogynist, and anti-LGBT content.{{refn|name="content"|

The board has been noted for widespread content that is:

Racist
White supremacist{{Cite journal |last1=Krafft |first1=P. M. |last2=Donovan |first2=Joan |date=2020-03-03 |title=Disinformation by Design: The Use of Evidence Collages and Platform Filtering in a Media Manipulation Campaign |journal=Political Communication |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=194–214 |doi=10.1080/10584609.2019.1686094 |issn=1058-4609 |doi-access=free}}
Antisemitic{{Cite journal |last1=Baele |first1=Stephane J. |last2=Brace |first2=Lewys |last3=Coan |first3=Travis G. |date=2021 |title=Variations on a Theme? Comparing 4chan, 8kun, and Other chans' Far-Right '/pol' Boards |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26984798 |journal=Perspectives on Terrorism |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=65–80 |issn=2334-3745 |jstor=26984798 |jstor-access=free}}
Anti-Muslim
Misogynist
Anti-LGBT{{Cite web |last=Milton |first=Josh |title=Super straight: Transphobic trend has links to the far-right |url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/03/08/super-straight-4chan-neo-nazi-kiwi-farms-trans-rights-transphobia/ |url-status=live |website=PinkNews |date=March 8, 2021 |access-date=10 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308185248/https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/03/08/super-straight-4chan-neo-nazi-kiwi-farms-trans-rights-transphobia/ |archive-date=8 March 2021}}}} /pol/ has been linked to various acts of real-world extremist violence.{{Cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Xinyi |last2=Davis |first2=Mark |date=2022-06-07 |title=E-extremism: A conceptual framework for studying the online far right |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/14614448221098360 |journal=New Media & Society |volume=26 |issue=5 |language=en |pages=2954–2970 |doi=10.1177/14614448221098360 |s2cid=249482748 |issn=1461-4448 |quote=4chan and 8kun's 'politically incorrect' (/pol/) boards have become a major source of inspiration for (self-)radicalization towards violent extremism and terrorism ...}}{{Cite book |last1=Zahrah |first1=Fatima |last2=Nurse |first2=Jason R. C. |last3=Goldsmith |first3=Michael |title=Proceedings of the 37th ACM/SIGAPP Symposium on Applied Computing |chapter=A comparison of online hate on reddit and 4chan |date=2022-04-25 |chapter-url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3477314.3507226 |series=SAC '22 |publisher=Association for Computing Machinery |pages=1797–1800 |doi=10.1145/3477314.3507226 |arxiv=2202.01302 |isbn=978-1-4503-8713-2 |s2cid=246485533 |access-date=16 July 2022 |quote=[T]he Politically Incorrect (/pol/) board, which has also been associated with spreading online hate, and has even been linked to violent acts of extremism...}} It has been described as one of the "[centers] of 4chan mobilization", a title also ascribed to :/b/.{{Citation |last=Beyer |first=Jessica L. |title=Trolls and Hacktivists: Political Mobilization from Online Communities |date=2021-11-10 |url=https://oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197510636.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780197510636-e-47 |work=The Oxford Handbook of Digital Media Sociology |editor-last=Rohlinger |editor-first=Deana A. |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197510636.013.47 |isbn=978-0-19-751063-6 |access-date=2022-05-22 |editor2-last=Sobieraj |editor2-first=Sarah}}

Overview

File:Pol screenshot 9 Dec 2019.png

Common /pol/ content involves discussion of history, far-right ideologies, hatred of black people, hatred and sexual exploitation of women and girls and current news. A 2020 report categorized about 36% of news sources frequently posted to the board by American users as "junk news", a category that includes sources considered to be propaganda, sensationalist, or conspiracy theory content. Outside of traditional news sources, users also commonly rely on alternative media such as YouTube commentary as a source of news.{{Cite journal |last1=Burton |first1=Anthony G. |last2=Koehorst |first2=Dimitri |date=2020-09-25 |title=Research note: The spread of political misinformation on online subcultural platforms |url=https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/research-note-the-spread-of-political-misinformation-on-online-subcultural-platforms/ |journal=Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review |language=en-US |doi=10.37016/mr-2020-40 |doi-access=free}}

Flags are displayed on each post. A national flag corresponding to the user's geographic location based on their IP address may be displayed. Alternatively, users may select a "meme flag" (also referred to as a "troll flag"), corresponding to various political identifiers.{{Cite journal |last1=Zelenkauskaite |first1=Asta |last2=Toivanen |first2=Pihla |last3=Huhtamäki |first3=Jukka |last4=Valaskivi |first4=Katja |date=4 January 2021 |title=Shades of hatred online: 4chan duplicate circulation surge during hybrid media events |journal=First Monday |language=en |volume=26 |issue=1 |doi=10.5210/fm.v26i1.11075 |issn=1396-0466 |doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal |last=Ludemann |first=Dillon |date=2021-08-02 |title=Digital semaphore: Political discourse and identity negotiation through 4chan's /pol/ |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/14614448211034848 |journal=New Media & Society |volume=25 |issue=10 |language=en |pages=2724–2743 |doi=10.1177/14614448211034848 |s2cid=238796625 |issn=1461-4448}} However, these are not common per amount of posts—the "Nazi" meme flag was the most commonly used meme flag in a 2020 analysis, while posts with an American geographic location were about 57 times more common (and appeared the most of any flag).

Each post also has a unique ID attached, which is likewise associated with the user's IP address. However, these unique IDs will only tend to remain attached to a user per a single thread, as they are not persistent between multiple threads.{{Cite journal |last=Fathallah |first=Judith May |date=2021-05-19 |title='Getting by' on 4chan: Feminine self-presentation and capital-claiming in antifeminist Web space |journal=First Monday |language=en |volume=26 |issue=6 |doi=10.5210/fm.v26i7.10449 |issn=1396-0466 |quote=...'/pol/' ... is slightly less anonymous than most of 4chan as a) identities are more likely to be stable throughout threads (but not between threads)... |doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal |last=Ludemann |first=Dillon |date=2018-08-01 |title=/pol/emics: Ambiguity, scales, and digital discourse on 4chan |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211695817301228 |journal=Discourse, Context & Media |language=en |publisher=Elsevier |volume=24 |pages=92–98 |doi=10.1016/j.dcm.2018.01.010 |s2cid=148708994 |issn=2211-6958}} Threads have a limited lifespan, effectively prioritizing newer content.{{Cite journal |last1=Wall |first1=Travis |last2=Mitew |first2=Teodor |date=2018-04-30 |title=Swarm networks and the design process of a distributed meme warfare campaign |journal=First Monday |language=en |volume=23 |issue=5 |doi=10.5210/fm.v22i5.8290 |issn=1396-0466 |doi-access=free}}

Much of the content on /pol/ relies heavily on Internet memes to further spread ideas.{{cite web |last=Hathaway |first=Jay |date=7 June 2017 |title=What the Harvard teens don't get about memes |url=https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/harvard-edgy-memes/ |url-status=live |access-date=12 April 2018 |website=The Daily Dot |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170815061301/https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/harvard-edgy-memes/ |archive-date=15 August 2017}}{{Cite journal |last=Thorleifsson |first=Cathrine |date=18 November 2021 |others=Research Council of Norway |title=From cyberfascism to terrorism: On 4chan/pol/ culture and the transnational production of memetic violence |journal=Nations and Nationalism |language=en |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=286–301 |doi=10.1111/nana.12780 |issn=1354-5078 |doi-access=free |hdl=10852/89597 |hdl-access=free}} Many have questioned the sincerity of users on /pol/ as possible trolls.{{cite news |last=Tait |first=Amelia |date=16 February 2017 |title=First they came for Pepe: How "ironic" Nazism is taking over the internet |work=New Statesman |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/internet/2017/02/first-they-came-pepe-how-ironic-nazism-taking-over-internet |access-date=16 August 2019}}{{cite news |last=Wilson |first=Jason |date=23 May 2017 |title=Hiding in plain sight: how the 'alt-right' is weaponizing irony to spread fascism |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/23/alt-right-online-humor-as-a-weapon-facism |access-date=12 April 2018}} According to Mic, "On a place like /pol/, there's no clear delineation between sincerity, irony and cynicism."{{Cite news |last=McKay |first=Tom |date=13 July 2016 |title=Inside 8chan's /pol/, the Far-Right Forum Where Trump's Star of David Meme First Spread |work=Mic |url=https://www.mic.com/articles/147969/what-is-8chans-pol-forum-where-trump-star-of-david-meme-first-spread |access-date=20 May 2022 |quote=/pol/ is a 4chan board too... On a place like /pol/, there's no clear delineation between sincerity, irony and cynicism.}} First Monday commented that "The creation of character-based archetypes is common on /pol/ and makes this online space semi-performative and semi-authentic."

While 4chan's /pol/ board is the most popular board under the "/pol/" name, versions on other websites have existed. These include Kohlchan, 8chan (later 8kun), 16chan, Shitchan, and Endchan, with some less popular "/pol/" themed boards accessible through the Tor network on sites such as 9chan and Neinchan. However, 4chan's /pol/ board has become increasingly "synonymous with 4chan as a whole", according to New Media & Society.{{Cite journal |last=Hagen |first=Sal |date=2022 |title='Who is /ourguy/?': Tracing panoramic memes to study the collectivity of 4chan/pol/ |journal=New Media & Society |volume=26 |issue=4 |language=en |pages=1735–1755 |doi=10.1177/14614448221078274 |issn=1461-4448 |doi-access=free |s2cid=246726080}}

History

Prior to the creation of /pol/, there were two boards intended for discussing news that had been added and removed from the site. The first of these was /n/, which was added on 8 April 2006. It replaced /n/'s previous topic of animals and nature, which was moved to the /an/ board. /n/'s topic was changed to transportation on 19 February 2008, without moving the news topic to another board, effectively removing it.{{cite web |title=4chan/History |url=https://wiki.bibanon.org/4chan/History |website=Bibliotheca Anonoma |access-date=28 January 2021}}{{User-generated inline|date=September 2022|certain=yes}}

Another news board, /new/, was later added on 25 January 2010. It was deleted a year later on 17 January 2011.{{User-generated inline|date=September 2022|certain=yes}} According to 4chan's creator and ex-administrator Christopher Poole, this was because it had "devolved into /stormfront/".Beran, Dale (30 July 2019). It Came from Something Awful: How a Toxic Troll Army Accidentally Memed Donald Trump into Office. St. Martin's Publishing Group. {{ISBN|9781250219473}}{{cite web |author=Poole |first=Christopher "moot" |author-link=Christopher Poole |date=19 January 2011 |title=Why were /r9k/ and /new/ removed? |url=http://content.4chan.org/tmp/r9knew.txt |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110820154606/http://content.4chan.org/tmp/r9knew.txt |archive-date=20 August 2011 |publisher=4chan}}{{Cite journal |date=1 July 2019 |editor-last=Massanari |editor-first=Adrienne |editor2-last=Golumbia |editor2-first=David |others=Dennis Erasmus (pseudonym) |title=Containment Breach: 4chan's /pol/ and the Failed Logic of "Safe Spaces" for Far-Right Ideology |url=https://www.boundary2.org/2019/07/dennis-erasmus-containment-breach-4chans-pol-and-the-failed-logic-of-safe-spaces-for-far-right-ideology/ |journal=Boundary 2 |volume=4 |issue=1}} This was comparing /new/ to Stormfront, which is the oldest and largest Holocaust-denialist white supremacist site.{{cite web |url=https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/stormfront |title=Stormfront |website=Hate on Display Hate Symbols Database |access-date=18 July 2020}} The /new/ board was the direct predecessor to /pol/.{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ED9XDwAAQBAJ&dq=%224chan%22+%22/pol/%22&pg=PT1634 |title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of the Internet |date=2018-05-15 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-1-5264-5043-2 |editor-last=Warf |editor-first=Barney |language=en}}

/pol/ was created in 2011. According to Christine Lagorio-Chafkin, /pol/ was created by "4chan's founder [...] to siphon off and contain the overtly xenophobic and racist comments and memes from other wings of 4chan."{{Cite book |last=Lagorio-Chafkin |first=Christine |chapter=r/The_Donald |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UwpUDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT323 |title=We Are the Nerds: The Birth and Tumultuous Life of Reddit, the Internet's Culture Laboratory |year=2018 |publisher=Hachette Books |isbn=978-0-316-43536-9 |page=323}} This has led to /pol/ acquiring the nickname of a "containment board", because its purpose is to keep far-right and generally political content off of 4chan's other boards.

Although there had previously been a strong left-libertarian contingent to 4chan activists, there was a gradual rightward turn on 4chan's politics board in the early-mid 2010s, with the fundamentalist approach to free speech contributing.{{Cite journal |last1=Colley |first1=Thomas |last2=Moore |first2=Martin |date=2022 |title=The challenges of studying 4chan and the Alt-Right: 'Come on in the water's fine' |journal=New Media & Society |language=en |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=5–30 |doi=10.1177/1461444820948803 |issn=1461-4448 |s2cid=224920047 |doi-access=free}}Nagle, Angela (2017). Kill All Normies: Online Culture Wars from 4chan and Tumblr to Trump and the Alt-Right. Winchester and Washington: Zero Books. {{ISBN|978-1-78535-543-1}}. The board quickly attracted posters with a political persuasion that later would be described with a new term, the alt-right.{{Cite book |last=Wendling |first=Mike |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5_jCuQEACAAJ |title=Alt-Right: From 4chan to the White House |date=2018 |publisher=Pluto Press |isbn=978-1-78680-237-8 |language=en}}

=Notable events=

Screenshots of Trayvon Martin's hacked social media accounts were initially posted to /pol/ in 2015.{{cite magazine |last=Bankoff |first=Caroline |date=29 March 2012 |title=White Supremacist Claims to Have Hacked Trayvon Martin's Email, Social Media Accounts |magazine=The New Yorker |url=http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2012/03/white-supremacist-claims-to-have-hacked-trayvon-martins-email-social-media-accounts.html |access-date=17 July 2015}}{{cite news |last=Mackey |first=Robert |date=29 March 2012 |title=Bloggers Cherry-Pick From Social Media to Cast Trayvon Martin as a Menace |work=The New York Times |url=http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/29/bloggers-cherry-pick-from-social-media-to-cast-trayvon-martin-as-a-menace/ |access-date=17 July 2015}}

After the 2015 Umpqua Community College shooting, /pol/ began attempting to circulate on social media claims that comedian Sam Hyde was the perpetrator of a mass shooting event or terrorist attack. They repeated this after several other mass shootings, in attempts to troll mainstream news outlets into reporting Hyde as the attacker.{{cite web |last=Daro |first=Ishmael N. |date=3 June 2016 |title=Don't Believe Any Breaking News That Names This Comedian As A Mass Shooter |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/ishmaeldaro/sam-hyde-shooter-hoax |url-status=live |access-date=20 August 2016 |website=BuzzFeed |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603173904/https://www.buzzfeed.com/ishmaeldaro/sam-hyde-shooter-hoax |archive-date=3 June 2016}} According to BBC News, CNN mistakenly included Hyde's image on their coverage of the Umpqua shooting.{{cite news |last=Bell |first=Chris |date=2 October 2017 |title=Las Vegas: The fake photos shared after tragedies |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-41467035 |access-date=16 August 2019}} After the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, a Google search for a different man's name returned a /pol/ thread in the "top stories" section falsely identifying him as the shooter. A spokesperson for Google said that the thread had appeared because search queries and news about the man were rare, allowing for the thread to appear in results, but that the thread did not appear in broader searches about the Las Vegas shooting.{{cite web |last=Shieber |first=Jonathan |date=2 October 2017 |title=How reports from 4chan on the Las Vegas shooting showed up on Google Top Stories |url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/02/how-reports-from-4chan-on-the-las-vegas-shooting-showed-up-on-google-top-stories |url-status=live |access-date=6 November 2017 |website=TechCrunch |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002222308/https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/02/how-reports-from-4chan-on-the-las-vegas-shooting-showed-up-on-google-top-stories/ |archive-date=2 October 2017}}{{Cite news |last=Machkovech |first=Sam |date=2 October 2017 |title=Google admits citing 4chan to spread fake Vegas shooter news |work=Ars Technica |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/10/google-admits-citing-4chan-to-spread-fake-vegas-shooter-news/ |access-date=20 May 2022}}

On April 6, 2016, users on the board's /sg/ (short for Syria General) thread collaborated with a Russian Twitter account to locate an encampment of Syrian rebels.{{Cite news |last=Ferréol |first=Théodore B. |date=14 April 2016 |title=Hat 4Chan die russische Armee dazu gebracht, syrische Rebellen zu bombardieren? |language=de |trans-title=Did 4Chan get the Russian army to bomb Syrian rebels? |work=Motherboard |url=https://www.vice.com/de/article/qkj7vd/4chan-russland-armee-syrien-rebellen-bombardieren-654 |access-date=20 November 2021}}{{Cite news |last=Zoltany |first=Monika |date=11 March 2017 |title=Shia LaBeouf Flag Capture Is Nothing -- 4Chan Once Called In An Airstrike |work=Inquisitr |url=https://www.inquisitr.com/4053076/shia-labeouf-flag-capture-is-nothing-4chan-once-called-in-an-airstrike/ |access-date=20 November 2021}} The account then claimed to have forwarded the location to the Russian Ministry of Defense. The board's users also allegedly located an ISIS training camp near Mosul, Iraq. The users coordinated on Telegram as well as on 4chan.{{Cite news |last=Steinblatt |first=Jacob |date=6 June 2016 |title=How One 4Chan Board Is Trying To Fight ISIS In Syria |work=Vocativ |url=https://www.vocativ.com/326039/how-one-4chan-board-is-trying-to-fight-isis-in-syria/index.html |access-date=20 November 2021 |archive-date=20 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120115805/https://www.vocativ.com/326039/how-one-4chan-board-is-trying-to-fight-isis-in-syria/index.html |url-status=dead}}

In summer 2016, /pol/ users coordinated "Operation Google", a campaign to associate the name "Google" with the ethnic slur "nigger".{{Cite news |last=De Cristofaro |first=Emiliano |date=8 November 2016 |title=4chan raids: how one dark corner of the internet is spreading its shadows |work=The Conversation |url=https://theconversation.com/4chan-raids-how-one-dark-corner-of-the-internet-is-spreading-its-shadows-68394 |access-date=20 May 2022}}{{Cite news |last=Tait |first=Amelia |date=23 September 2016 |title='Stinking Googles should be killed': why 4chan is using a search engine as a racist slur |work=The New Statesman |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/2016/09/stinking-googles-should-be-killed-why-4chan-using-search-engine-racist |access-date=20 May 2022}} This was undertaken in response to Google's Jigsaw subsidiary developing Conversation AI, a tool made to recognize offensive language.{{Cite news |last=Griffin |first=Andrew |date=3 October 2016 |title=Far-right Twitter and Facebook users make secret code to avoid censorship |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/racist-facebook-twitter-skype-google-skittles-donald-trump-farright-a7343356.html |access-date=20 May 2022}}

One of the most popular memes found on the board during the period surrounding the 2016 US presidential election was Pepe the Frog, which has been deemed a hate symbol in some contexts by the Anti-Defamation League due to its use in uniforms, places, and people associated with Nazism, the Ku Klux Klan, and antisemitism.{{cite web |title=Pepe the Frog |url=https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/pepe-the-frog |url-status=live |access-date=12 April 2018 |website=Anti-Defamation League |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314001708/https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/pepe-the-frog |archive-date=14 March 2017}}{{cite news |last=Roy |first=Jessica |date=11 October 2016 |title=How 'Pepe the Frog' went from harmless to hate symbol |work=Los Angeles Times |url=http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-pepe-the-frog-hate-symbol-20161011-snap-htmlstory.html |access-date=12 April 2018}}{{cite web |last=Ellyatt |first=Holly |date=29 September 2016 |title=Who is Pepe the Frog and why has he become a hate symbol? |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/29/who-is-pepe-the-frog-and-why-has-he-become-a-hate-symbol.html |url-status=live |access-date=12 April 2018 |website=CNBC |publisher= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160930211653/http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/29/who-is-pepe-the-frog-and-why-has-he-become-a-hate-symbol.html |archive-date=30 September 2016}} Many /pol/ users favored Donald Trump during his 2016 United States presidential campaign. Some right-wing memes about the presidential campaign originated on the board.{{Cite journal |last1=Rieger |first1=Diana |last2=Kümpel |first2=Anna Sophie |last3=Wich |first3=Maximilian |last4=Kiening |first4=Toni |last5=Groh |first5=Georg |date=20 October 2021 |title=Assessing the Extent and Types of Hate Speech in Fringe Communities: A Case Study of Alt-Right Communities on 8chan, 4chan, and Reddit |journal=Social Media + Society |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=1–13 |doi=10.1177/20563051211052906 |doi-access=free}} Upon his election, a /pol/ moderator embedded a pro-Trump video at the top of all of the board's pages.{{cite web |last=Lee |first=Oliver |date=13 March 2016 |title=Understanding Trump's Troll Army |url=https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/bmvnq4/understanding-trumps-troll-army |url-status=live |access-date=14 July 2017 |website=Motherboard |publisher=Vice Media |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706015019/https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/bmvnq4/understanding-trumps-troll-army |archive-date=6 July 2017}}{{cite news |last=Ohlheiser |first=Abby |date=9 November 2016 |title='We actually elected a meme as president': How 4chan celebrated Trump's victory |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/11/09/we-actually-elected-a-meme-as-president-how-4chan-celebrated-trumps-victory/ |access-date=14 July 2017}}{{cite web |last=Steinblatt |first=Jacob |date=13 October 2015 |title=Donald Trump Embraces His 4Chan Fans |url=http://www.vocativ.com/239143/donald-trump-embraces-his-4chan-fans/ |url-status=live |access-date=14 July 2017 |website=Vocativ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407074023/http://www.vocativ.com:80/239143/donald-trump-embraces-his-4chan-fans/ |archive-date=7 April 2016}}{{cite web |last1=Schreckinger |first1=Ben |date=March–April 2017 |title=World War Meme |url=http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/03/memes-4chan-trump-supporters-trolls-internet-214856 |url-status=live |access-date=14 July 2017 |website=Politico |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305133116/http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/03/memes-4chan-trump-supporters-trolls-internet-214856 |archive-date=5 March 2017}}

Users of /pol/ engaged in coordinated attacks on LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner's HEWILLNOTDIVIDE.US, a 2017 performance art project made to protest Donald Trump's first presidency.{{cite news |last=Selk |first=Avi |date=2 April 2017 |title=A live stream of Shia LaBeouf chanting was disrupted by Nazi-themed dancing. Then things got weird. |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2017/04/02/a-livestream-of-shia-labeouf-chanting-was-disrupted-by-nazi-themed-dancing-then-things-got-weird/ |access-date=10 November 2017}} Some users on the board suggested committing acts of violence against participants in the art project. Users also organized the it's okay to be white poster campaign the same year.{{cite news |last=Ross |first=Janell |date=3 November 2017 |title='It's okay to be white' signs and stickers appear on campuses and streets across the country |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/11/03/its-okay-to-be-white-signs-and-stickers-appear-on-campuses-and-streets-across-the-country/ |access-date=5 November 2017}}{{Cite journal |last=Brooks |first=Marcus A. |date=2020-11-01 |title=It's okay to be White: laundering White supremacy through a colorblind victimized White race-consciousness raising campaign |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02732173.2020.1812456 |journal=Sociological Spectrum |volume=40 |issue=6 |pages=400–416 |doi=10.1080/02732173.2020.1812456 |s2cid=225216067 |issn=0273-2173}}

In 2017, users of /pol/ coordinated a campaign to convince mainstream news organizations that the OK gesture was a white power symbol; the OK gesture was later used meta-ironically by white supremacists.{{cite news |last=Brodeur |first=Michael Andor |date=20 September 2018 |title=That hand symbol you're seeing everywhere? Not OK |work=The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2018/09/20/that-hand-symbol-you-seeing-everywhere-not/6NXpp9PHsEKiunjypIFjDJ/story.html |access-date=30 September 2018}}

In October 2017, a tripcode user referred to as "Q" began posting on 4chan's /pol/ board in what would become the QAnon conspiracy theory and political movement. Q soon moved to 8chan.{{Cite journal |last1=Zeeuw |first1=Daniel de |last2=Hagen |first2=Sal |last3=Peeters |first3=Stijn |last4=Jokubauskaite |first4=Emilija |date=2020-10-26 |title=Tracing normiefication: A cross-platform analysis of the QAnon conspiracy theory |journal=First Monday |language=en |volume=25 |issue=11 |doi=10.5210/fm.v25i11.10643 |issn=1396-0466 |doi-access=free}}

In 2019, 4chan and 8chan were temporarily blocked by internet service providers in Australia and New Zealand for containing videos of the Christchurch mosque shootings.{{Cite news |last=Brodkin |first=Jon |date=20 March 2019 |title=4chan, 8chan blocked by Australian and NZ ISPs for hosting shooting video |work=Ars Technica |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/03/australian-and-nz-isps-blocked-dozens-of-sites-that-host-nz-shooting-video/ |access-date=24 May 2022}}{{Cite web |date=9 September 2019 |title=Government Orders 8 Sites Blocked For Hosting Christchurch Footage |url=https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/09/government-orders-8-sites-blocked-for-hosting-christchurch-footage/ |url-status=dead |access-date=11 July 2020 |website=Kotaku Australia |language=en-AU |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190910205012/https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/09/government-orders-8-sites-blocked-for-hosting-christchurch-footage/ |archive-date=10 September 2019}} Before the shootings, the shooter posted on 8chan's /pol/ board.{{Cite web |last=Evans |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Evans (journalist) |date=2019-04-28 |title=Ignore The Poway Synagogue Shooter's Manifesto: Pay Attention To 8chan's /pol/ Board |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/americas/2019/04/28/ignore-the-poway-synagogue-shooters-manifesto-pay-attention-to-8chans-pol-board/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428015004/https://www.bellingcat.com/news/americas/2019/04/28/ignore-the-poway-synagogue-shooters-manifesto-pay-attention-to-8chans-pol-board/ |archive-date=28 April 2019 |access-date=2021-04-10 |website=Bellingcat |language=en-GB}}{{Cite journal |last1=Malevich |first1=Simon |last2=Robertson |first2=Tom |date=2020-02-24 |title=Violence begetting violence: An examination of extremist content on deep Web social networks |journal=First Monday |language=en |volume=25 |issue=3 |doi=10.5210/fm.v25i3.10421 |issn=1396-0466 |doi-access=free}} The suspected perpetrators of the Poway synagogue shooting and the El Paso shooting also allegedly posted their manifestos there. In late 2019, a poster campaign coordinated on the board received some local and regional news coverage. The posters stated, "Islam was RIGHT about women".{{Cite journal |last=Soesanto |first=Stefan |date=2021 |title=The Dr. House Approach to Information Warfare |url=https://cyberdefensereview.army.mil/Portals/6/Documents/2021_winter_cdr/CDR_Winter_2021.pdf |journal=The Cyber Defense Review |location=West Point, New York |publisher=Army Cyber Institute at the United States Military Academy |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=119–130 |issn=2474-2120 |jstor=e26994108 |jstor-access=free}}

In 2019, shortly before the news of Jeffrey Epstein's death were announced officially and in the media, an anonymous person made a post on /pol/, claiming that Epstein had died "an hour ago". Later, FDNY launched an investigation due to the breach and violation of a federal health privacy law, HIPAA.{{Cite web |date=2019-08-13 |title=4chan user posted about Jeffrey Epstein's death before it was public |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/4chan-user-posted-about-jeffrey-epstein-s-death-it-was-n1041931 |access-date=2023-12-13 |website=NBC News |language=en}}{{Cite web |last1=Salo |first1=Jackie |last2=Moore |first2=Tina |date=2019-08-13 |title=Jeffrey Epstein's death was on 4chan before it became public |url=https://nypost.com/2019/08/13/why-was-jeffrey-epsteins-death-on-4chan-before-it-became-public/ |access-date=2023-12-13 |language=en-US}}

File:Super Straight Flag.svg]]

{{Anchor|Super Straight}} In late February and early March 2021, users on /pol/ boosted a social media trend called "super straight", which they said was a new sexuality describing heterosexuals who would never have a sexual relationship with transgender people.{{cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/04/how-super-straight-started-culture-war-tiktok/618498/ |access-date=27 February 2024 |title=The sexual identity that emerged on TikTok |first=Connor |last=Friedersdorf |newspaper=The Atlantic |date=7 April 2021}}{{Cite news |last=Ibrahim |first=Nur |date=March 2021 |title=Did the 'Super Straight' Trend Originate With Nazis on 4chan? |work=Snopes |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/super-straight-nazis-4chan/ |access-date=21 May 2022}} The trend began with a later-deleted TikTok video by a user who said he had created the term because he was tired of being called transphobic.{{Cite web |last=Asarch |first=Steven |date=8 March 2021 |title=A social-media trend has people identifying as 'super straight.' The transphobic campaign was meant to divide LGBTQ people. |url=https://www.insider.com/super-straight-flag-meaning-tiktok-superstraight-ss-movement-origin-2021-3 |access-date=10 March 2021 |website=Insider}} LGBT versions of the trend are "super gay", "super lesbian", and "super bisexual".{{Cite web |last=Milton |first=Josh |date=2021-03-11 |title=Pathetic 'super straight' trolls have already moved on to a new transphobic trend |url=https://www.thepinknews.com/2021/03/11/super-straight-gay-lesbian-bisexual-reddit-4chan-ss-bolts-neo-nazis/ |access-date=2024-02-14 |website=PinkNews |language=en-US}}The Daily Dot stated that "trolls, bigots, and trans-exclusionary radical feminists" were "reframing their harassment of transgender people" through this trend.{{Cite web |last=Ball |first=Siobhan |date=9 March 2021 |title=Transphobic trolls are trying to pass off 'super straight' as a new sexual identity |url=https://www.dailydot.com/irl/4chan-trolls-super-straight/ |url-status=live |access-date=10 March 2021 |website=The Daily Dot |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309151429/https://www.dailydot.com/irl/4chan-trolls-super-straight/ |archive-date=9 March 2021}} The trend spread to other platforms as well, including Twitter, and 4chan users were eager to "red pill" those in the Generation Z age group, create division among LGBTQ communities, and use the language of LGBTQ rights to troll leftists. Some 4chan members used Nazi symbols in their symbolism, including the logo of Adolf Hitler's Schutzstaffel, which also used SS as an acronym. Colors associated with "super straight", often used in the form of flags, were black and orange.

In a manifesto allegedly written by the accused perpetrator of the 2022 Buffalo shooting, the author said he was introduced to his far-right ideology (including a belief in the Great Replacement conspiracy theory) through browsing /pol/, beginning in May 2020.{{Cite news |last1=Closson |first1=Troy |last2=Medina |first2=Eduardo |last3=Patel |first3=Vimal |date=2022-05-14 |title=Live Updates: Gunman Kills 10 at Buffalo Supermarket in Racially Motivated Attack |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/05/14/nyregion/buffalo-shooting |url-status=live |access-date=2022-05-14 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220515055142/https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/05/14/nyregion/buffalo-shooting?smid=url-copy%23the-accused-gunmans-racist-manifesto-outlined-a-plan-to-kill-blacks-and-referred-to-replacement-theory |archive-date=May 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |quote=Around May 2020, during a period of pandemic boredom, Mr. Gendron said that he had begun to frequent 4chan, an anonymous forum, including its Politically Incorrect message board. There, he said, he was exposed to the conspiracy theory that white people are at risk of being replaced.}}{{Cite news |last1=Frosch |first1=Dan |last2=McWhirter |first2=Cameron |last3=Vielkind |first3=Jimmy |last4=Wells |first4=Georgia |date=2022-05-17 |title=Buffalo Shooter's 673-Page Diary Reveals Descent Into Racist Extremism |language=en-US |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/buffalo-shooting-supermarket-673-page-diary-reveals-suspects-descent-into-racist-extremism-11652814938 |url-status=live |access-date=2022-05-18 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220517205546/https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/buffalo-shooting-supermarket-673-page-diary-reveals-suspects-descent-into-racist-extremism-11652814938 |archive-date=17 May 2022 |issn=0099-9660 |quote=He credited 4chan, where extremist views are expressed with few restrictions, with influencing him. In particular, he spent time on the platform's "politically incorrect" page that is known among analysts as a hub for spreading far-right ideology, including white supremacy.}}

The day after the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting, Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) falsely claimed that its perpetrator was a "transsexual leftist illegal alien" in a tweet, which was taken down two hours after it was posted.{{Cite web |last=Niemietz |first=Brian |date=2022-05-25 |title=Rep. Paul Gosar blames Texas school massacre on 'transsexual leftist illegal alien' |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-paul-gosar-trans-illegal-immigrant-texas-shooting-20220525-quvkzwdzfrfj7oej7mqh7tc2ke-story.html |access-date=2022-05-27 |website=New York Daily News}} The claim was based on a rumor started by an anonymous poster on /pol/, who posted the Reddit account of a transgender woman and claimed that she was the shooter; photos of the woman were widely shared on social media, including in conservative Facebook groups, where she was also erroneously identified as the shooter and harassed.{{Cite web |last1=Yurcaba |first1=Jo |last2=Goggin |first2=Ben |last3=Collins |first3=Ben |date=2022-05-25 |title=Trans woman's photo used to spread baseless online theory about Texas shooter |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/trans-womans-photo-used-spread-baseless-online-theory-texas-shooter-rcna30511 |access-date=2022-05-27 |website=NBC News |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Stein |first=Joshua |date=2022-05-27 |title=How the Right-Wing Smear That the Texas Shooter Was a Trans Woman Spread So Fast |url=https://slate.com/technology/2022/05/uvalde-shooter-misinformation.html |access-date=2022-05-27 |website=Slate |language=en}}

Reception

Some have characterised /pol/ as predominantly racist and sexist, with many of its posts taking explicitly alt-right and neo-Nazi points of view. In particular, the board is infamous for the prevalence of antisemitic threads and memes.{{cite news |last=Dewey |first=Caitlin |author-link=Caitlin Dewey Rainwater |date=25 September 2014 |title=Absolutely everything you need to know to understand 4chan, the Internet's own bogeyman |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/09/25/absolutely-everything-you-need-to-know-to-understand-4chan-the-internets-own-bogeyman/ |access-date=17 July 2015}}{{cite news |last=Siegel |first=Jacob |date=29 June 2015 |title=Dylann Roof, 4chan, and the New Online Racism |work=The Daily Beast |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/29/dylann-roof-4chan-and-the-new-online-racism.html |access-date=17 July 2015}}{{cite web |last=Alonso |first=Fernando III |date=13 June 2014 |title=#EndFathersDay is the work of 4chan, not feminists |url=http://www.dailydot.com/lifestyle/4chan-end-fathers-day/ |url-status=live |access-date=17 July 2015 |website=The Daily Dot |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705201055/http://www.dailydot.com/lifestyle/4chan-end-fathers-day/ |archive-date=5 July 2014}}{{cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Or |date=7 December 2014 |title=4chan Trolls Take Over Electronic Billboard, Racism Ensues |url=http://www.vocativ.com/usa/race/4chan-deehubs/ |url-status=live |access-date=17 July 2015 |website=Vocativ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150201073551/http://www.vocativ.com:80/usa/race/4chan-deehubs/ |archive-date=1 February 2015}}{{Cite news |title=Alt-Right |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/alt-right |access-date=30 October 2017}}{{Excessive citations inline|date=March 2025}} One common antisemitic meme on /pol/ is the Happy Merchant.{{Cite web |title=The Happy Merchant |url=https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/the-happy-merchant |access-date=2021-07-30 |website=Anti-Defamation League |language=en}} Southern Poverty Law Center regards /pol/'s rhetorical style as widely emulated by white supremacist websites such as The Daily Stormer; the Stormer{{'}}s editor, Andrew Anglin, concurred.

=As a potential honeypot=

Many have speculated whether the website is kept online as a honeypot for far-right groups, or to monitor extremists.{{cite web |last=Khazan |first=Olga |date=25 January 2021 |title=The Far Right's fear of 'Glowies' |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/01/what-glowies-mean-online-spies/617717/ |url-status=live |access-date=21 March 2021 |website=The Atlantic |publisher=Atlantic Media Company |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125130436/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/01/what-glowies-mean-online-spies/617717/ |archive-date=25 January 2021}}{{cite thesis |last=Potapova |first=Rodmonga |date=1 October 2015 |title=Determination of the Internet Anonymity Influence on the Level of Aggression and Usage of Obscene Lexis |type=PhD |publisher=Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration |arxiv=1510.00240}} In 2015, an Australian Department of Defence graduate used /pol/ to share classified information, only to be caught by another former Department of Defence worker browsing the site.{{Cite web |last=Cushing |first=Tim |date=2015-08-07 |title=Man Leaks Sensitive Documents To 4chan; Receives Insults, Arrest For His Troubles |url=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150807/05322231878/man-leaks-sensitive-documents-to-4chan-receives-insults-arrest-his-troubles.shtml |url-status=live |access-date=11 July 2020 |website=Techdirt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915074120/https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150807/05322231878/man-leaks-sensitive-documents-to-4chan-receives-insults-arrest-his-troubles.shtml |archive-date=15 September 2015}} Within /pol/, suspected agents of various intelligence communities are called "glowniggers",{{Cite web |date=19 January 2020 |title=Richmond Gun Rally: Is A Virginia Cop Giving 4Chan's /pol Board Inside Info? |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2020/01/19/richmond-gun-rally-is-a-virginia-cop-giving-4chans-pol-board-inside-info/ |url-status=live |access-date=11 July 2020 |website=Bellingcat |language=en-GB |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200119154402/https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2020/01/19/richmond-gun-rally-is-a-virginia-cop-giving-4chans-pol-board-inside-info/ |archive-date=19 January 2020}} commonly shortened to just "glowies", a reference to the computer programmer Terry A. Davis, who said the "CIA niggers glow in the dark, you can see them if you're driving, you just run them over." Because of this, suspicious posters are said to be "glowing", and activity on the forum deemed similar to those of CIA agents is referred to as "glowposting".

=Alleged moderator racism=

In 2020, several past and current moderators spoke to Vice Media's Motherboard about what they perceived as racist intent behind /pol/ and 4chan as a whole. They described how the manager of 4chan's volunteer "janitors", a moderator known as RapeApe, wishes to generate right-wing discussion on /pol/ and has dissuaded janitors from banning users for racism. Additionally, they noted how janitors were often fired whenever they held left-wing opinions. Hiroyuki Nishimura was described as letting RapeApe have full control of the site.{{cite news |last=Arthur |first=Rob |date=November 2, 2020 |title=The Man Who Helped Turn 4chan Into the Internet's Racist Engine |work=Motherboard |publisher=Vice Media |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7aap8/the-man-who-helped-turn-4chan-into-the-internets-racist-engine |url-status=live |access-date=November 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118014552/https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7aap8/the-man-who-helped-turn-4chan-into-the-internets-racist-engine |archive-date=November 18, 2020}}

Studies

=Influence=

A 2017 quantitative analysis found that /pol/ was an important influencer of news content on Twitter, with the board contributing 3% of mainstream news links and 1.96% of alternative news links on Twitter (as a fraction of all links co-appearing on Twitter, Reddit, and 4chan). The researchers concluded that {{"'}}fringe' communities often succeed in spreading alternative news to mainstream social networks".{{Cite conference |last1=Zannettou |first1=Savvas |last2=Caulfield |first2=Tristan |last3=De Cristofaro |first3=Emiliano |last4=Kourtelris |first4=Nicolas |last5=Leontiadis |first5=Ilias |last6=Sirivianos |first6=Michael |last7=Stringhini |first7=Gianluca |last8=Blackburn |first8=Jeremy |date=2017 |title=The Web Centipede: Understanding How Web Communities Influence Each Other Through the Lens of Mainstream and Alternative News Sources |url=https://conferences.sigcomm.org/imc/2017/papers/imc17-final145.pdf |publisher=ACM |pages=405–417 |isbn=978-1-4503-5118-8 |book-title=Proceedings of the 2017 Internet Measurement Conference}}

=Content and userbase=

According to a 2017 longitudinal study, using a dataset of over 8 million posts, /pol/ is a diverse ecosystem with users well-distributed around the world. The percentage of posts containing hate speech ranges from 4.15% (e.g., in Indonesia, Arab countries) to 30% (e.g., China, Bahamas, Cyprus). Elevated use of hate speech is seen in Western European countries (e.g., Italy, Spain, Greece, and France).{{Cite conference |last1=Hine |first1=Gabriel Emile |last2=Onaolapo |first2=Jeremiah |last3=De Cristofaro |first3=Emiliano |last4=Kourtellis |first4=Nicolas |last5=Leontiadis |first5=Ilias |last6=Samaras |first6=Riginos |last7=Stringhini |first7=Gianluca |last8=Blackburn |first8=Jeremy |date=May 2017 |title=Kek, Cucks, and God Emperor Trump: A Measurement Study of 4chan's Politically Incorrect Forum and Its Effects on the Web |url=https://ojs.aaai.org/index.php/ICWSM/article/view/14893/14743 |book-title=Proceedings of the Eleventh International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media |publisher=Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence |volume=11 |doi=10.1609/icwsm.v11i1.14893 |doi-access=free|arxiv=1610.03452 }} They also examined raids performed by /pol/ users against other platforms, particularly YouTube videos. They found that when a link to a YouTube video was posted on a /pol/ thread, an increase in hateful comments appeared on the video's comments section for the duration of that thread's existence.{{Cite journal |last=Cressey |first=Daniel |date=2017-06-09 |others=Gianluca Stringhini |title=Shining a light on the dark corners of the web |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2017.22128 |journal=Nature |language=en |doi=10.1038/nature.2017.22128 |issn=1476-4687 |doi-access=free}}{{Cite news |last=Jasper |first=Marykate |date=23 June 2017 |title=So That's Where All the Horrible YouTube Comments Come From |work=The Mary Sue |url=https://www.themarysue.com/4chan-pol-youtube-comments/ |access-date=20 May 2022}} Another study found that adjusted for Internet-using population per country, users were most commonly from Canada, Australia, the United States, Ireland and Croatia. Users from other countries in Europe were also found to be common.

Following the announcement of a COVID-19 lockdown occurring in Wuhan, China, in January 2020, an international team of researchers noted an increase of anti-Chinese sentiment and anti-Asian slurs on /pol/ in reaction to the events surrounding the virus outbreak, in an analysis that also examined similar activity on Twitter.{{Cite news |last=Rimer |first=Sara |date=March 22, 2021 |title=BU Researchers Warned of Online Surge of Anti-Asian Attacks a Year Ago |publisher=Boston University |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2021/bu-researchers-warned-of-online-surge-of-anti-asian-attacks-a-year-ago/ |access-date=July 15, 2021}}{{Cite book |last1=Tahmasbi |first1=Fatemeh |last2=Schild |first2=Leonard |last3=Ling |first3=Chen |last4=Blackburn |first4=Jeremy |last5=Stringhini |first5=Gianluca |last6=Zhang |first6=Yang |last7=Zannettou |first7=Savvas |title=Proceedings of the Web Conference 2021 |chapter='Go eat a bat, Chang!': On the Emergence of Sinophobic Behavior on Web Communities in the Face of COVID-19 |date=2021-04-19 |series=WWW '21 |location=New York, NY, USA |publisher=Association for Computing Machinery |pages=1122–1133 |doi=10.1145/3442381.3450024 |isbn=978-1-4503-8312-7 |doi-access=free}} This included calls for violence against Chinese people. According to a 2020 report by the British charity Community Security Trust, many threads contain "explicit calls for Jews to be killed".{{cite news |last=Zonshine |first=Idan |title=New UK report exposes massive online network of far-right antisemitism |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=June 15, 2020 |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/new-uk-report-exposes-massive-online-network-of-far-right-antisemitism-631491 |access-date=25 August 2020}}

A study with data collected from April 2020 to June 2020 and published in Perspectives on Terrorism in February 2021 analyzed the popularity and content present on different /pol/ boards. To analyze board content, they examined which word sets were most common per board. They found that schisms were characteristic of this subculture, with splinter communities being less popular and more extreme on average. For example, discussion on 8kun's /pol/ board contained more racial content than did 4chan's much more popular /pol/ board, which hosted racist content as well. Neinchan, hosted on the Tor network, was indicated as having among the most extreme /pol/ boards, albeit with low traffic. The researchers indicated that academic work examining this subculture of far-right imageboards was lacking.

In a study published in January 2021, researchers found that there were escalating amounts of antisemitic rhetoric used on /pol/ after mass shooting events, particularly the Christchurch mosque shootings and the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. Another study found that activity on the board more generally tended to increase rapidly following mass shootings committed by right-wing extremists.

A July 2021 analysis of climate change discussion on /pol/ found that there were large contingents of users who discussed the topic using antisemitic, racist and conspiracy theorist themes. It also found a growing trend of "climate nationalism" (i.e. the integration of nationalist and racist beliefs with narratives about the occurrence of climate change) among the board's users who participated in these conversations. These discussions still featured prominent amounts of debate concerning the scientific aspects of climate change, such as academic publishing and the validity of the scientific consensus on climate change. However, a trend was observed where, over time, this was a slowly declining feature of such discussions.

=Research design=

A study published in New Media & Society in January 2022 discussed the interactions between /pol/ users and the researchers who study their community. The study observed the reactions of /pol/ users to a research workshop dedicated to studying them. The researchers suggested that studies that aim to learn about the /pol/ community and its users should take into account (for research design purposes) that they may be aware of observation by external entities, "rather than seeing it as a community that can be externally observed without consequence." They also suggested that, "[A]cademics may be influenced by knowing that 4chan is watching. /pol/, and associated communities, have long been associated with attacks on those trying to study or criticise them..."

=Artificial intelligence=

In June 2022, it was made public that a chat bot named "GPT-4chan" was trained by Yannic Kilcher, a machine learning expert, using 134.5 million /pol/ posts. He allowed ten such bots to post on /pol/ without restriction for two periods of 24 hours, mimicking human users.{{Cite news |last=Mellor |first=Sophie |date=10 June 2022 |title='This breaches every principle of human research ethics': A YouTuber trained an A.I. bot on toxic 4Chan posts then let it loose — and experts aren't happy |work=Fortune |url=https://fortune.com/2022/06/10/ai-chatbot-trained-on-4chan-by-yannic-kilcher-draw-ethics-questions/ |access-date=16 July 2022}}{{Cite magazine |last=Perrigo |first=Billy |date=23 June 2022 |title=Fun AI Apps Are Everywhere Right Now. But a Safety 'Reckoning' Is Coming |magazine=Time |url=https://time.com/6189865/online-safety-ai-image-tools/ |access-date=16 July 2022}} It made 15,000 posts during the first period: about ten percent of the total /pol/ posts during that time.{{Cite news |last=Gault |first=Matthew |date=7 June 2022 |title=AI Trained on 4Chan Becomes 'Hate Speech Machine' |work=Motherboard |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k8zwx/ai-trained-on-4chan-becomes-hate-speech-machine |access-date=16 July 2022}}{{Cite news |last=Fingas |first=Jon |date=8 June 2022 |title=AI trained on 4chan's most hateful board is just as toxic as you'd expect |work=Engadget |url=https://www.engadget.com/ai-bot-4chan-hate-machine-162550734.html |access-date=16 July 2022}} Overall, GPT-4chan had posted 30,000 times in 7,000 threads. One iteration of GPT-4chan could be distinguished from most other /pol/ users by its Seychelles flag, displayed due to Kilcher's use of a proxy server. He used 4chan's paid "4chan Pass" service to bypass anti-spam restrictions (such as CAPTCHA).{{Cite news |last=Dreibelbis |first=Emily |date=8 June 2022 |title=Shocker: Bot Trained on 4chan Chats Is Super Offensive |work=PCMag |url=https://www.pcmag.com/news/shocker-bot-trained-on-4chan-chats-is-super-offensive |access-date=16 July 2022}} The influx of GPT-4chan posts gained attention from /pol/ users, with some suspecting a government agent or a dedicated team of posters.{{Cite news |last=Wille |first=Matt |date=10 June 2022 |title=GPT-4chan: This AI posted on 4chan for days before being unmasked |work=Input |url=https://www.inputmag.com/tech/artificial-intelligence-4chan-bot |access-date=16 July 2022}} Some also suggested a bot could have been posting.{{Cite news |last=Quach |first=Katyanna |date=9 June 2022 |title=AI chatbot trained on posts from web sewer 4chan behaved badly – just like human members |work=The Register |url=https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/09/ai_model_4chan/ |access-date=16 July 2022}} The experiment had some lasting impact on /pol/, with accusations between posters of bot use continuing past the experiment's run-time. The bot frequently posted racial slurs and conspiracy theories. GPT-4chan gained significant attention among media and artificial intelligence (AI) researchers.{{Cite news |last=Chopra |first=Disha |date=23 June 2022 |title=GPT – 4chan, a chatbot trained over 4chan, delivers nihilistic and hateful outputs as expected |work=Analytics Drift |url=https://analyticsdrift.com/gpt-4chan-a-chatbot-trained-over-4chan-delivers-nihilistic-and-hateful-outputs-as-expected/ |access-date=16 July 2022}} Kilcher's GPT-4chan experiments, as well as his decision to release the underlying model for the bot online, were controversial. A letter entitled "Condemning the deployment of GPT-4chan" was signed by hundreds of AI researchers and developers.{{Cite news |last=Kurenkov |first=Andrey |date=12 June 2022 |title=Lessons from the GPT-4Chan Controversy |work=The Gradient |url=https://thegradient.pub/gpt-4chan-lessons/ |access-date=16 July 2022}}{{Cite web |date=26 June 2022 |title=Nonsense Sentience, Condemning GPT-4chan, DeepFake Bans, CVPR Plagiarism |url=https://lastweekin.ai/p/nonsense-sentience-condemning-gpt#details |first=Andrey |last=Kurenkov |access-date=16 July 2022 |website=Last Week in AI |publisher=Skynet Today}} One AI ethicist with the Australian Institute for Machine Learning said that it violated "every principle of human research ethics". A DeepMind researcher said GPT-4chan "contributed to 4chan's echo chamber" and that it was "not impossible that gpt-4chan pushed somebody over the edge in their worldview". The Next Web commented that "[GPT-4chan] highlights AI's ability to automate harassment, disrupt online communities, and manipulate public opinion ... it also spread discriminatory language at scale." MIT Technology Review said, "Considering the material it was trained on, this outcome was depressingly inevitable."{{Cite news |last=Williams |first=Rhiannon |date=8 June 2022 |title=The Download: Malaysia's LGBTQ activists, and 4Chan's toxic AI |work=The Download |publisher=MIT Technology Review |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/06/08/1053250/download-malaysia-lgbtq-activists-4chans-toxic-ai/ |access-date=16 July 2022}} Hugging Face, the website where the bot's model was published, restricted access to it. The site's CEO stated: "[T]he experiment of having the model post messages on 4chan was [in my opinion] pretty bad and inappropriate [...]". However, he also said that it "brought interesting insights into the limitations of existing benchmarks by outperforming the TruthfulQA Benchmark compared to GPT-J and GPT-3". The Register added that, "GPT-4chan ... has some value for building potential automatic content moderation tools or probing existing benchmarks."