Social media has transformed politics, driving a surge in far-right extremism. Recently, radical anti-democratic ideologies have entered into the political mainstream, fueled by energy from extreme online environments. This book delves into the “murder capital of the racist Internet”, examining 20 years of conversations on Stormfront.org.

1. Situating Stormfront in Social Media Debates 2. A More Social Theory of Online Politics 3. Methodology, Data, and Ethics 4. Introducing Stormfront 5. Identity: Becoming a Community 6. Discourse: Constructing a Worldview 7. Affect: Building Emotional Energy 8. Stormfront and the Rise of the Far Right

“Research on the far right is still rare, and the far right has even more rarely been addressed as a social movement. This engaging and important book, with its systematic analysis of identities, discourses and affects represents a valuable exception and great contribution to this scholarship. This volume not only provide a superb analysis (and analytically sounded) of Stormfront and the use of social media , but also offer insights to the current far right politics landscape and dynamics overall, much deeper than could any electoral result”- Manuela Caiani, Associate Professor, Political Science at the Scuola Normale Superiore“This ambitious and pioneering book casts new light on the process of radicalization online. Weaving together insights derived from digital ethnography, social network analysis, and natural language processing, Intimate Communities of Hate, reveals how shared emotions and collective identity power the Stormfront extremist community in the United States. Essential reading for those who are interested in studying extremism, or how to combine cutting-edge qualitative and quantitative techniques to do so.”- Chris Bail, Professor of Sociology, Political Science, and Public Policy at Duke University"From two of the top experts on far-right extremism, Intimate Communities of Hate: Why Social Media Fuels Far-Right Extremism represents a truly innovative and breakthrough work of research. Its contribution lies in what is the most long-term and detailed analysis of far-right online communities coupled with a cutting-edge and much needed call to reconsider how we think about and explain what has become known as “online radicalization.” Intimate Communities of Hate raises the bar for the entire field of extremism and terrorism research showing how an extensive empirical investigation of a single case study can be conducted in a way that employs sophisticated analytic procedures and provides thought provoking and policy relevant theoretical insights. Without a doubt this is a must read!"- Pete Simi, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology at Chapman University