The Politics of Clickbait

On January 4, The Irish Times caused a national controversy when they published an article entitled ‘The alt-right: Everything you need to know.’ Written by Wicklow-based American writer Nicholas Pell, the article claimed to explore the beliefs and language of the alt-right, a new wave of conservatives who have been associated with Donald Trump. However, despite its grandiose title, the article failed to tell readers the two most important things about the alt-right and Nicholas Pell’s relationship with it.

1. That “alt-right” is the group’s self-chosen euphemism: “fascists”, “white supremacists”, and “neo-Nazis” would be more accurate labels. The term ‘alt-right’ was actually coined by a man by the name of Richard Spencer, an American white supremacist (born in Boston, brought up in Texas and now living in Montana), who advocates a “white homeland” and rails against Jewish people, people of colour and immigrants. In a speech in November 2016, he quoted Nazi propaganda in the original German, and referred to white people as “the children of the sun”, telling his (overwhelmingly white, male) followers that to be white “is to be a creator, and explorer, a conqueror.” He promotes the idea that white people are under threat, and have to assert their power and dominance over other races and ethnicities. The choice facing white people, Spencer asserts, is “to conquer or die.” Clearly, the man is a fool. But that doesn’t justify blase articles about him, or his political beliefs.

2. Nicholas Pell is a vocal supporter of the alt-right, and a self-confessed peddler of clickbait.

Researching Nicholas Pell would not have been difficult for The Irish Times. Reading his previous writing and his self-inflating social media accounts, Pell’s derogatory attitude to anyone who is not a straight, white man is painfully obvious. Identifying as a US Republican, Pell is pro-Trump. He is also anti-taxation and anti-immigration, once responding to a proposal to bring 200 unaccompanied Calais children to Ireland by tweeting “I double dog dare you to bring them where I live. See how that goes.”

The stupidity of a migrant making threats to refugees is glaring. That they are minors of course, makes the farcical hard-man pose even more ludicrous.

Pell spends an inordinate amount of time opining that all feminists are fat and retweeting praise for himself. But perhaps the most important thing to know about Nicholas Pell is summarised by an article he wrote for Cracked.com, a ‘comedy’ site that also publishes articles based on political and personal experience. One of Pell’s articles for Cracked was simply titled ‘6 Things You Learn Getting Paid To Troll People Online’. Pell says in the article that while he always believes what he writes, he deliberately tries to cause the most amount of offence and controversy. “When I’m writing,” Pell boasts, like the loathsome windbag that he is, “I literally take time to determine how I can phrase something in a way that will provoke the greatest amount of butthurt from sea to shining sea.”

Pell revels in this pathetic role of low-rent antagoniser, claiming that editors use his offensive views as click-bait, and that he thus profits from downright nastiness, as more and more people read and share his articles. After all, the assumption goes, advertisers don’t care if the article you’re reading is promoting racism or juvenile sexism; they just want you to notice the ad in the corner. Well, maybe they should care. And maybe some of them do.

“Editors know they can rely on me to produce a stream of punters giving them the sweet page views and click-throughs they need to pitch to potential advertisers,” says Pell. “So basically every time you read my article, comment on it, and/or share it with your friends while telling them what a dick I am, you’re helping me buy another pair of $400 jeans. Thanks for that!”

Sadly, clickbait does tend to work. Being a snivelling, paid jerk earns you a living. Pell’s article in The Irish Times was widely shared and read, as were the three follow-up articles by other Irish Times writers and editors, confirming that deliberate offence sells – which we know anyway from public hate-mongers like the risible Katie Hopkins and Rush Limbaugh.

Meanwhile, Richard Spencer himself thanked Pell for “speaking objectively and sympathetically about the alt-right.” Now, there’s a distinction to put in your CV.

3. The Irish Times: happy to use prejudiced terminology

Had The Irish Times made any of the above clear, readers might have seen the publication of Pell’s offensive, agenda-laden glossary of alt-right jargon in a slightly different light. Instead, the newspaper made an editorial decision to publish deliberately offensive propaganda online, without comment, context or basic information about the article’s author. The piece was presented as an unbiased piece of journalism. In effect, The Irish Times said: “We are happy to use deeply prejudiced terminology under the Irish Times’ editorial banner.”

In publishing a list of terms that, in a sneaky way attacked women and people of colour, The Irish Times was abandoning professional standards and journalistic ethics in pursuit of the advertising dollar. As a result, the editors have allowed Nicholas Pell to set the terms and the tone of the conversation about the alt-right movement here in Ireland. This is not a trivial matter. The racist, misogynistic, homophobic and xenophobic views presented in Pell’s Irish Times piece are becoming more and more prevalent in the United States. People of this ideological bent have supported, and in turn been emboldened by, the success of President Elect Donald Trump.

Dismissing Pell and all the other trolls who seek to gain attention by offending others as despicable low-life who are best ignored is understandable. But there is no room for complacency. The Irish Times have given them a greater foothold here. Reasonable people will want to make sure that it does not get any bigger...