Intellectual dark web explained

Intellectual dark web should not be confused with Dark Enlightenment.

The intellectual dark web (IDW) is a term used to describe a loose affiliation of academics and social commentators who oppose the perceived influence of left wing–associated identity politics and political correctness in higher education and mass media.

Individuals and publications associated with the term reject what they view as authoritarianism and ostracism within mainstream progressive movements in Western countries. This includes opposition to deplatforming, boycotts, and online shaming, which are seen as threats to freedom of speech. Those who have been labelled as being part of the IDW include both liberals and conservatives. The validity of the term is contested by some it has been applied to because of the range of beliefs it encompasses.

Origin and usage

The term "intellectual dark web" was coined by financial executive Eric Weinstein and popularized by New York Times opinion editor Bari Weiss. It has been used to refer to various academics and social commentators who express concerns over the perceived excesses of left-wing identity politics.[1]

According to Weiss, Weinstein stated that when he coined the term he was "half-joking".[2] This occurred after Weinstein's brother, biologist Bret Weinstein, resigned in 2017 from his position as professor of biology at the Evergreen State College in response to protests against his criticism of a campus event that asked white students to stay off campus, as opposed to the previous annual tradition of black students voluntarily absenting themselves.[3]

Derek Beres argues for Big Think that other controversies, dating back to 2014, should also be viewed as antecedents to the IDW. These include a debate between Sam Harris and Ben Affleck on Real Time with Bill Maher in October 2014, the publication of "Google's Ideological Echo Chamber" by James Damore in August 2017, and Cathy Newman's interview of Jordan Peterson on Channel 4 News in January 2018, each of which related to controversial topics such as Islamic extremism and workplace diversity policies.[4]

Membership and ideology

In addition to identity politics, issues of concern to the IDW include postmodernism and "cultural Marxism", which are perceived as contributing to moral relativism and the suppression of free speech. According to Weiss, the IDW comprises a loose affiliation of individuals who have cultivated audiences outside traditional mainstream media, from which they believe they have been excluded.[5]

Sources differ on the nature of the IDW, with some describing its members as "small-l liberals" and others as "reactionaries" and ideologically diverse.[6] Shared beliefs include opposition to political correctness, but focus areas vary. Those who have been linked to the IDW are generally critical of what they perceive as "conformist" liberals, and some have been associated with the alt-lite and the alt-right of the political spectrum.[7]

Writers for Psychology Today characterize the IDW as "generally concerned about political tribalism and free speech",[8] or as a rejection of "mainstream assumptions about what is true".[9] Writers for Salon dubbed it a politically conservative movement united more over a rejection of American liberalism than over any mutually shared beliefs.[10] [11] Alternatively, Christian Alejandro Gonzalez, writing for the National Review, posited that, despite comprising "all political persuasions", the IDW was united in a particular conservative-leaning conceptualization of injustice and inequality specifically.[12]

In an essay titled "Meet the Renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web", Weiss characterized individuals associated with the intellectual dark web as "iconoclastic thinkers, academic renegades and media personalities", who have been "purged from institutions that have become increasingly hostile to unorthodox thought", and who have instead taken to social media, podcasting, public speaking, and other alternative venues outside "legacy media".[2] Many IDW members according to Weiss identify as atheist, including prominent New Atheists Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Sam Harris, Steven Pinker, and Maajid Nawaz. Religious conservatives such as Jordan Peterson and Ben Shapiro are also included, as well as commentators Douglas Murray, Joe Rogan, and Dave Rubin. Weiss also names Bret and Eric Weinstein, along with Heather Heying, Claire Lehmann, Debra Soh, Bill Maher, and Christina Hoff Sommers as IDW members.[2]

Although those associated with the IDW primarily criticize the political left,[13] [14] some describe themselves as liberal, but criticize what they perceive as the excesses and indifference of the American Left, while others lean to the right.[15] [16] Nick Fouriezos of Ozy magazine describes IDW as "a growing school of thought that includes a collection of mostly left-leaning professors, pundits and thinkers united in their criticism of the modern social justice movement as authoritarian and illogical."[16] Liberals who have been labelled as being part of the IDW often credit the Enlightenment with vast improvements in human welfare since the 18th century, and see Enlightenment values such as freedom of speech and individual rights as threatened by both political correctness on the left, and Trumpism and religious conservatism on the right.[16] The Guardian characterized the IDW as "strange bedfellows" that comprise the "supposed thinking wing of the alt-right".[17] The Los Angeles Review of Books described the members as identifying with both the left and the right, but united against "primary adversaries" including political correctness, progressives, left-wing politics, and "the neo-fascist alt-right".[15]

Regarding the organization of the IDW, Daniel W. Drezner observed that it is essentially leaderless, and may be individually beholden to their audiences, unable to progress a coherent agenda.[18]

In his book Against the Web: A Cosmopolitan Answer to the New Right, progressive author and political commentator Michael Brooks lists a "devotion to affirming capitalism", a "shared obsession with campus and social media controversies" and an "intense interest in IQ and other innate justifications for systemic inequalities" as defining features of the group.[19]

Internal disagreements

Some writers, including Cathy Young, have expressed uncertainty over whether they belong in the intellectual dark web.[20] Historian of medicine and science Alice Dreger expressed surprise in being told she was a member of the IDW at all. After she was invited to be profiled in the New York Times article, she stated that she "had no idea who half the people in this special network were. The few Intellectual Dark Web folks I had met I didn't know very well. How could I be part of a powerful intellectual alliance when I didn't even know these people?"[21]

In November 2020, Harris distanced himself from the movement, saying that he was "turn[ing] in [his] imaginary membership card to this imaginary organization", because some unidentified members of the group were propagating President Donald Trump's false claims that the 2020 US presidential election was stolen through voter fraud.[22] He later described the focus on COVID-19 vaccines by Bret Weinstein as being "completely crazy".[23]

In 2021, Dave Rubin described a growing ideological split among the early IDW. According to Freddie Sayers, Rubin includes Bari Weiss, Sam Harris, and Bret Weinstein among "those who believe the tools of liberalism can still be deployed to persuade the Woke Left to change their mind", while Rubin believes that is not possible, and that he is "better off building bridges with the Right".[24]

Reception

Criticism of the IDW has come primarily from the left and support from the right.[15] [25] Weiss's article sparked a number of critiques. Jonah Goldberg, writing in the National Review, said the "label is a bit overwrought", writing that it struck him "as a marketing label – and not necessarily a good one. ... It seems to me this IDW thing isn't actually an intellectual movement. It's just a coalition of thinkers and journalists who happen to share a disdain for the keepers of the liberal orthodoxy."[26] Henry Farrell, writing in Vox, expressed disbelief that conservative commentator Ben Shapiro or neuroscientist Sam Harris, both claimed to be among the intellectual dark web by Weiss, could credibly be described as either purged or silenced. Weiss' fellow New York Times columnist Paul Krugman noted the irony of claiming popular intellectual oppression by the mainstream, while publishing in the Times, among the most prominent newspapers in the nation,[27] although Weiss did not herself claim to be part of the IDW and would depart the Times almost exactly one year later over the same issues central to figures in it.[28] David French contended many of the critics were missing the point, and were instead inadvertently confirming "the need for a movement of intellectual free-thinkers."[29]

In 2019, a study from the Federal University of Minas Gerais found a pattern of migration of viewers who comment on YouTube videos, from commenting on clips associated with the IDW and the "alt-lite" to commenting on more algorithm-defined "right-wing and/or alt-right" videos. The study looked at over 331,000 videos that an algorithm had classified as right-wing, analyzed 79 million YouTube comments, and found a group that migrated from IDW channels to "alt-lite" channels, and then the alt-right channels. The subjects who left comments at an IDW channel were more likely to graduate after a few years to leaving significantly more comments on alt-right channels than the control group. The study's authors said they were not intending to "point fingers", but to draw attention to the effects of YouTube's recommendation algorithm, calling it an "almost totally algorithm-driven process."[30] [31]

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Book: Sheedy . Matt . Owning the Secular: Religious Symbols, Culture Wars, Western Fragility . Routledge Focus on Religion . 2022 . Routledge . London . 978-0-367-46802-6 . 89–90 . 10.4324/9781003031239.
  2. News: Weiss . Bari . Bari Weiss . May 8, 2018 . Meet the Renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web . . May 8, 2018 . January 31, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200131000213/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/opinion/intellectual-dark-web.html . live .
  3. News: Susan . Svrluga . Joe . Heim . June 1, 2017 . Threat shuts down college embroiled in racial dispute . . 14 July 2024 . May 26, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190526100104/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2017/06/01/threats-shut-down-college-embroiled-in-racial-dispute/ . live . limited.
  4. Web site: 5 key moments that led to the rise of the Intellectual Dark Web. Derek. Beres. Big Think. 2018-03-27. 2019-09-11. March 26, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190326062157/https://bigthink.com/21st-century-spirituality/5-key-issues-that-led-to-the-rise-of-the-intellectual-dark-web. live.
  5. Web site: Farrell . Henry . The 'Intellectual Dark Web,' explained: what Jordan Peterson has in common with the alt-right . Vox . 14 July 2024 . 10 May 2018.
  6. Web site: A Better Way to Understand the Intellectual Dark Web . Merion West . September 23, 2020. 20 November 2021 .
  7. Finlayson . Alan . Neoliberalism, the Alt-Right and the Intellectual Dark Web . Theory, Culture & Society . 38 . 6 . 2021 . 1460-3616 . 10.1177/02632764211036731 . 167–190. 239690708 . free .
  8. Web site: Blum . Alexander . The Intellectual Dark Web Debates Religion . . 25 June 2019 . December 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201215034335/https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-guest-room/201807/the-intellectual-dark-web-debates-religion . live .
  9. Web site: Baker . Jennifer . The "Intellectual Dark Web" and the Simplest of Ethics . . 25 June 2019 . December 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201215034357/https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-love-wisdom/201906/the-intellectual-dark-web-and-the-simplest-ethics . live .
  10. News: Everson . Ryan . Jordan Peterson announces new social media platform amid Pinterest controversy . 30 July 2019 . . June 13, 2019 . July 30, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190730125747/https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/jordan-peterson-announces-new-social-media-platform-amid-pinterest-controversy . live .
  11. Web site: Link . Taylor . The Intellectual Dark Web conservatives fear . . 25 June 2019 . September 2, 2018 . June 20, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190620235050/https://www.salon.com/2018/09/02/the-intellectual-dark-web-conservatives-fear/ . live .
  12. Web site: Alejandro Gonzalez . Christian . Inequality and the Intellectual Dark Web . . 25 June 2019 . May 16, 2018 . June 20, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180620235155/https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/05/intellectual-dark-web-members-united-views-inequality/ . live .
  13. News: Weiss. Bari. Winter. Damon. 2018-05-08. Opinion Meet the Renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-11-07. 0362-4331.
  14. Web site: Link. Taylor. 2018-09-02. The Intellectual Dark Web conservatives fear. 2021-11-07. Salon. en. ....the Intellectual Dark Web (IDW), a quasi-informal group of political commentators... who've gained traction for its hostility towards American liberalism.
  15. News: Hamburger. Jacob. 18 July 2018. The "Intellectual Dark Web" Is Nothing New. Los Angeles Review of Books. live. 12 November 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20190327104249/https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-intellectual-dark-web-is-nothing-new/#!. March 27, 2019. ...the movement does tend to think of liberals, progressives, and leftists as its primary adversaries..
  16. Web site: Fouriezos. Nick. August 10, 2020. American Fringes: The Intellectual Dark Web Declares Its Independence. 2020-09-05. OZY. September 19, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200919021953/https://www.ozy.com/news-and-politics/american-fringes-the-intellectual-dark-web-declares-its-independence/362845/. live.
  17. News: The 'Intellectual Dark Web' – the supposed thinking wing of the alt-right . 25 June 2019 . May 9, 2018 . June 10, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190610151510/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/shortcuts/2018/may/09/the-ntellectual-dark-web-the-supposed-thinking-wing-of-the-alt-right . live .
  18. News: Drezner . Daniel W. . Daniel W. Drezner . The Ideas Industry meets the intellectual dark web . . 25 June 2019 . May 11, 2018 . May 29, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190529031640/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/05/11/the-ideas-industry-meets-the-intellectual-dark-web/ . live .
  19. Book: Brooks, Michael. Against the Web: A Cosmopolitan Answer to the New Right. Zero Books. 2020. 9781789042306. Hampshire. Michael Brooks (political commentator).
  20. Web site: Young . Cathy . 2018-05-20 . Who's afraid of the "Intellectual Dark Web"? . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201215034400/https://arcdigital.media/whos-afraid-of-the-intellectual-dark-web-27ccdc052515?gi=986d028d8f70 . December 15, 2020 . 2019-09-10 . Arc Digital Media.
  21. Dreger . Alice . Alice Dreger . Why I Escaped the 'Intellectual Dark Web' . . 25 June 2019 . May 11, 2018 . June 25, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190625015928/https://www.chronicle.com/article/Why-I-Escaped-the/243399 . live .
  22. Republic of Lies . samharris.org . Sam Harris . Sam Harris . 19 November 2020 . 0:03.48 . 19 November 2020 . Insofar as I've noticed what others in the so called Intellectual Dark Web have been saying, it's generally not something I want to be associated with. I don't want to single anyone out in particular, but allow me to take this moment to turn in my imaginary membership card to this imaginary organization. I mean, the IDW was always tongue-in-cheek from my point of view. It was the name for a group of people who were willing to discuss difficult topics in public mostly on podcasts, but it never made sense for us to be grouped together as though we shared a common worldview. I never saw much downside to it, and I didn't much think about it, but in the aftermath of this election with some members of this fictional group sounding fairly bonkers, I just want to make it clear that I'm not part of any group. . December 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201215034337/https://samharris.org/podcast/ . live .
  23. News: Anthony . L. Fisher . The Intellectual Dark Web's Descent Into Paranoia and Trumpism . 12 July 2023 . The Daily Beast . January 19, 2023.
  24. News: Sayers . Freddie . Dave Rubin: why the 'Intellectual Dark Web' split up . 12 July 2023 . UnHerd . April 6, 2021.
  25. Web site: Yes, The Intellectual Dark Web Is Politically Diverse. Areo. Blaine. Bowden. 2019-05-06. July 30, 2019. August 5, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190805120237/https://areomagazine.com/2019/05/06/yes-the-intellectual-dark-web-is-politically-diverse/. live.
  26. News: Evaluating the 'Intellectual Dark Web' . Goldberg . Jonah . Jonah Goldberg . May 8, 2018 . . 25 June 2019 . July 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200715125707/https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/intellectual-dark-web-bari-weiss/ . live .
  27. Web site: Bonazzo . John . David A. French . NY Times 'Intellectual Dark Web' Story Savaged on Twitter—Even by Paper's Staffers . . June 25, 2019 . August 5, 2018 . July 22, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190722165419/https://observer.com/2018/05/new-york-times-bari-weiss-intellectual-dark-web-twitter/ . live .
  28. News: Pompeo . Joe . In Dramatic Exit From the Times, Bari Weiss Makes Bid for Woke-Wars Martyrdom . 29 October 2022 . . July 14, 2020.
  29. Web site: French . David A. . David A. French . Critics Miss the Point of the 'Intellectual Dark Web' . . June 25, 2019 . May 11, 2018 . August 13, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190813064324/https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/05/intellectual-dark-web-meaning-audience/ . live .
  30. Study Shows How the 'Intellectual Dark Web' Is a Gateway to the Far Right. Dickson. EJ. August 28, 2019. Rolling Stone. September 25, 2019. September 21, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190921044442/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/youtube-far-right-radicalization-study-877061/. live.
  31. Book: Manoel Horta . Ribeiro. Raphael . Ottoni. Robert . West . Virgílio A F . Almeida . Wagner . Meira Meira . Proceedings of the 2020 Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency . Auditing radicalization pathways on YouTube . 201316434 . 2020 . 131–141 . 10.1145/3351095.3372879. 9781450369367 . free .