Is he /ourguy/, a false flag, or something else? Debating Breivik’s and Tarrant’s terrorism on 4chan’s /pol/ board

Academic literature widely assumes that extremist-housing online forums, like 4chan, uniformly celebrate acts of right-wing terrorism, like those committed by Anders Breivik and Brenton Tarrant. A wealth of evidence (e.g. ‘sainthood’ memes) unquestionably documents the praise both terrorists have received on 4chan, both satirical and otherwise. Aside from a handful of notable exceptions, however, this body of research often fails to acknowledge that ideologically likeminded individuals on the platform also regularly debate the merits of both terrorists and their violent attacks—particularly on 4chan’s infamous /pol/ board. We argue that overlooking these debates on 4chan is problematic because it potentially limits valuable insights into online radicalisation. Namely, we risk simplifying a contested forum for ideological negotiation and expression while erroneously (theoretically) modelling some extremist online spaces as echo chambers. We also suggest that more critically examining these online discussions might support countering violent extremism and counter-terrorism initiatives. To address this gap in knowledge, we draw from nearly a (collective) decade worth of Breivik and Tarrant-focused discussion on 4chan’s /pol/ board. Using the tools of natural language processing, we show a far more nuanced picture of how these terrorists are conceptualised on the platform, across nearly 100 thousand /pol/ posts and replies. Ranging from celebratory, to condemning, and moral to conspiratorial, these (heated) debates help us better understand how physically isolated—but digitally connected—extreme online communities respond to acts of terror. We then discuss how these narratives might be used to inform academic theory and future counter-action efforts.