The rise of right-wing alternative social media platforms has reshaped the media landscape, creating an ecosystem where opposition to transgender rights is amplified. Unlike mainstream platforms, which implement content moderation, alternative platforms such as BitChute, Gab, Rumble, Telegram, and Truth Social foster unregulated discourse where anti-trans narratives spread unchecked. This study examines how engagement with these platforms relates to attitudes toward transgender individuals in the U.S. Using data from Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (Wave 109, 2022; N = 10,188), we find that individuals who consume news from alternative social media express significantly more anti-trans policy opinions than non-users. Regression analyses show that users of alternative platforms are more likely to support criminalizing parental support for a child’s gender transition and oppose legal protections for transgender individuals—policies that have relatively low levels of public support and opposition, respectively, among the general population. Additionally, we find that being Republican, conservative, religious, and lower income predicts greater use of alternative platforms, reinforcing ideological echo chambers that intensify anti-trans views. Among alternative platform users (n = 587), those who believe these platforms help them “better understand the world” exhibit stronger anti-trans policy opinions, particularly regarding transgender youth. Platform-specific analyses reveal that users of BitChute, Gab, Rumble, Telegram, and Truth Social hold significantly more anti-trans views than non-users, while differences for Gettr and Parler users are not significant. These findings highlight how alternative social media fosters ideological radicalization and plays a critical role in shaping public opposition to transgender rights in the US.

This paper engages in scholarly conversations about white nationalism on digital platforms through the claim that analysis of white nationalist digital rhetoric requires a significantly more thorough theorization of race to understand the core drivers of contemporary white nationalist activity. The object through which this paper forwards this claim is white nationalist digital rhetoric on /pol/itically incorrect (an imageboard known as a hub for white nationalism hosted on the platform 4chan). The paper argues that white nationalist digital rhetoric on /pol/ functions as a technics of raciality, or a set of practical skills that deploy and adapt the signifying strategies justifying racial violence through the affordances of media technology. The paper makes this argument through a rhetorical analysis of the posting habits of /pol/ users as found in discussion threads regarding common topics of concern, such as crime and immigration. The paper concludes by emphasizing comparative and transnational racial rhetoric as a significant concern for scholarship focusing on contemporary white nationalism on digital platforms.

This paper examines how alt-tech platforms, particularly Rumble, reconfigure conspiracy culture. While mainstream social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook have influenced the visibility and circulation of conspiracy theories, increasing content moderation has led to the migration of creators to alternative platforms that promote unrestricted speech. Through a six-month digital ethnography of a right-wing conspiracy theory channel that transitioned from YouTube to Rumble, this study analyzes how platform affordances and ideological commitments shape conspiracy narratives. Findings reveal that Rumble fosters a distinct conspiratorial discourse characterized by (1) amateur aesthetics and (2) rhizomatic, open-ended narratives, conceptualized as a "stream of paranoid consciousness." This format, enabled by Rumble’s free speech absolutism, encourages a fluid and immersive mode of engagement that disrupts traditional narrative closure. Unlike the structured, episodic storytelling often found in mainstream media, conspiracy content on Rumble embraces ongoing uncertainty, fostering a participatory distrust loop among viewers. These aesthetic and discursive transformations echo historical right-wing media practices, particularly the interactive, unscripted style of 1990s talk radio. By demonstrating how alt-tech platforms cultivate a distinct conspiratorial culture, this paper contributes to broader discussions on platform governance, media infrastructures, and digital counter-publics. Rather than merely hosting content rejected by mainstream platforms, Rumble actively reshapes the production and reception of conspiracy theories, illustrating the profound role of platform infrastructures and values in structuring public discourse.

The migration of users from mainstream social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter (X), YouTube) to alternative platforms (e.g., Telegram, Vkontakte, Gab, 4Chan) is often attributed to the latter’s lack of censorship and high anonymity, fostering spaces for controversial political discourse. While prior research highlights deplatforming as a key driver—where banned political actors and their followers shift to alternative spaces—this study explores direct linking practices on mainstream platforms as an additional "pull" mechanism. Different from the sudden "push" effect of deplatforming, the sharing of links subtly invite users to alternative platforms offering access to fringe content. Focusing on German alternative news-sharing environments across seven platforms this study examines how such direct linking to alternative platforms in posts on mainstream platforms has evolved from 2019 to 2022. Approximately 50 million posts from mainstream platforms revealed 650,000 links to alternative platforms, connecting to 7,000 unique accounts. Preliminary findings show Telegram as the most linked platform, with Facebook disproportionately prominent in sharing links. For further analysis three potential actor intentions are proposed: relocating followers to alternative platforms, boosting mainstream platform popularity by highlighting alternative content, or expanding cross-platform influence. Using time series modeling and network analysis, this study addresses two research questions: (1) How has direct linking to alternative platforms developed over time? (2) What are the likely intentions and actor types behind these practices?