Mountains of Evidence: Processual “Redpilling” as a Sociotechnical Effect of Disinformation

How do people come to believe far-right, extremist, and conspiratorial ideasthey encounter online? This paper examines how participants in primarily US-based far-right online communities describe their adoption of “redpill” beliefsand the role of disinformation in these accounts. Applying the sociotechnicaltheory of media effects, we conduct qualitative content analysis of “redpillingnarratives” gathered from Reddit, Gab, and Discord. While many users frameredpilling as a moment of conversion, others portray redpilling as a process,something achieved incrementally through years of community participationand “doing your own research.” In both cases, disinformation presented asevidence and the capacity to determine the veracity of presented evidence playimportant roles in redpilling oneself and others. By framing their beliefs as therational and logical results of fully considering a plethora of evidence, redpilladherents can justify holding and promoting otherwise indefensible prejudices.The community’s creation, promotion, and repetition of far-rightdisinformation, much of which is historical or “scientific” in nature, play acrucial role in the adoption of far-right beliefs.