Alt-left
Alt-left is a neologism begun by conservative online media in 2016 suggesting the existence of a similar ideological fringe movement to the Alt-right on the political left. The term began being used by Sean Hannity and Fox News to criticize bias against President-elect Trump. Scholars note that there is no equivalent to the alt-right on the political left. The term gained popularity when it was used against Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. The term and the concept of an "alt-left" as an opposite-but-equal mirror of the alt-right have been severely criticized. The term gained prevalence when U.S. president Donald Trump used the phrase during remarks on the Charlottesville rally on August 15, 2017.
Background
The usage of the term is made in contradictory ways, with many scholars noting that there is no equivalent to the alt-right on the hard and far political left.
Unlike the term "alt-right" (which was coined by those on the extreme right who comprise the movement), as noted by Washington Post writer Aaron Blake, "alt-left" was "coined by its opponents and doesn't actually have any subscribers". According to George Hawley, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Alabama, no such label has been adopted by any members of the progressive left. While acknowledging that there are anti-fascism activists on the left who engage in physical confrontation against members of the far-right, Oren Segal, director of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism, concurred that no equivalent to those who identify as being part of the "alt-right" exists, stating that anti-fascist groups were not consciously aiming to brand themselves in the manner that white supremacists, neo-Nazis and other members of the far-right had undertaken to mainstream their ideology.
Its usage eventually circulated within conservative online media, and was popularized around those circles through its use by Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity to suggest the existence of a similar ideological fringe movement on the political left. On the November 14, 2016 edition of his eponymous Fox News program, Hannity used the term to excoriate "alt-left media" together with "mainstream" and "radical" media for being "biased against President-elect Trump". According to The New Republic, the term was popularized after it was "picked up" by Fox News as a way to "frame the Democratic wing led by and Elizabeth Warren as extreme". And the term has been criticized as a label that, unlike alt-right, was not coined by the group it purports to describe, but, rather, was created by political opponents as a political smear implying a false equivalence. Mark Pitcavage of the Anti-Defamation League states that the term was made up by extremist groups to create a false equivalence between the far right and “anything vaguely left-seeming that they didn't like.”
According to journalist Peter Beinart, "What Trump calls “the alt left”... is actually antifa." Unrelated to Donald Trump's use of the word, Buzzfeed UK published an article about "alt-left media" in the United Kingdom in May 2016. The article refers to "alt-left" news websites such as Another Angry Voice, The Canary, Evolve Politics and Skwawkbox, which are "hyperpartisan" supporters of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. Researchers such as Mark Pitcavage state that the “alt-left” does not actually exist and the derogatory term had been made up to create an equation between the far right and certain activists and politicians on the left.
Background
The usage of the term is made in contradictory ways, with many scholars noting that there is no equivalent to the alt-right on the hard and far political left.
Unlike the term "alt-right" (which was coined by those on the extreme right who comprise the movement), as noted by Washington Post writer Aaron Blake, "alt-left" was "coined by its opponents and doesn't actually have any subscribers". According to George Hawley, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Alabama, no such label has been adopted by any members of the progressive left. While acknowledging that there are anti-fascism activists on the left who engage in physical confrontation against members of the far-right, Oren Segal, director of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism, concurred that no equivalent to those who identify as being part of the "alt-right" exists, stating that anti-fascist groups were not consciously aiming to brand themselves in the manner that white supremacists, neo-Nazis and other members of the far-right had undertaken to mainstream their ideology.
Its usage eventually circulated within conservative online media, and was popularized around those circles through its use by Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity to suggest the existence of a similar ideological fringe movement on the political left. On the November 14, 2016 edition of his eponymous Fox News program, Hannity used the term to excoriate "alt-left media" together with "mainstream" and "radical" media for being "biased against President-elect Trump". According to The New Republic, the term was popularized after it was "picked up" by Fox News as a way to "frame the Democratic wing led by and Elizabeth Warren as extreme". And the term has been criticized as a label that, unlike alt-right, was not coined by the group it purports to describe, but, rather, was created by political opponents as a political smear implying a false equivalence. Mark Pitcavage of the Anti-Defamation League states that the term was made up by extremist groups to create a false equivalence between the far right and “anything vaguely left-seeming that they didn't like.”
According to journalist Peter Beinart, "What Trump calls “the alt left”... is actually antifa." Unrelated to Donald Trump's use of the word, Buzzfeed UK published an article about "alt-left media" in the United Kingdom in May 2016. The article refers to "alt-left" news websites such as Another Angry Voice, The Canary, Evolve Politics and Skwawkbox, which are "hyperpartisan" supporters of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. Researchers such as Mark Pitcavage state that the “alt-left” does not actually exist and the derogatory term had been made up to create an equation between the far right and certain activists and politicians on the left.
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