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#REDIRECT [[Alt-right#"Alt-left"]] |
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{{Merge to|Alt-right#Alt-left|date=August 2017|discuss=Talk:Alt-left#Merge_proposal_discussion}} |
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'''Alt-left''' is a [[neologism]] suggesting the existence of an ideological fringe movement on the political left, as a direct opposite of the [[alt-right]]. The term, commonly used as a pejorative, has been used to describe groups, outlets, or individuals who were perceived as being critical of then President-elect [[Donald Trump]]. Trump used the term during remarks on the [[Unite the Right rally|Charlottesville rally]] on August 15, 2017. |
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According to [[Mark Pitcavage]], an analyst at the [[Anti-Defamation League|Anti Defamation League]], the term was invented to suggest a false equivalence between the alt-right and their opponents.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/us/politics/alt-left-alt-right-glossary.html?mcubz=1|title=Alt-Right, Alt-Left, Antifa: A Glossary of Extremist Language|work=[[The New York Times]]|last1=Stack|first1=Liam|date=August 15, 2017|accessdate=September 13, 2017}}</ref> |
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==Background== |
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Unlike the term "alt-right" (which was coined by those on the extreme right who comprise the movement), as noted by ''[[The Washington Post|Washington Post]]'' writer Aaron Blake, "alt-left" was "coined by its opponents and doesn't actually have any subscribers".<ref name="BlakeAltRightProblem">{{cite news|title=Introducing the ‘alt-left’: The GOP’s response to its alt-right problem|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/12/01/meet-the-alt-left-the-gops-response-to-its-alt-right-problem/|author=Aaron Blake|newspaper=The Washington Post|publisher=Nash Holdings LLC|date=December 1, 2016|accessdate=August 16, 2017}}</ref> 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.<ref name="cnn-altleft">{{cite news|last1=Sterling|first1=Joe|last2=Chavez|first2=Nicole|date= August 16, 2017|title= What's the 'alt-left'? Experts say it's a 'made-up term'|url= http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/16/politics/what-is-alt-left/index.html|work=CNN|location=|access-date=}}</ref><ref name="bustle-whatisthealtleft">{{cite news|title=What Is The Alt-Left? Trump Pinned The Charlottesville Violence On Them, Too|url=https://www.bustle.com/p/what-is-the-alt-left-trump-pinned-the-charlottesville-violence-on-them-too-76849|author=Chris Tognotti|website=[[Bustle (magazine)|Bustle]]|date=August 15, 2017}}</ref> 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.<ref name="bustle-whatisthealtleft"/><ref>{{cite news|title=There is No Alt-Left|url=http://progressivearmy.com/2016/12/09/no-alt-left-come-see-giltroy-time/|author=Michael Graham|website=Progressive Army|date=December 9, 2016}}</ref><ref name=WolcottProblem>{{cite web|title=Why the Alt-Left is a Problem, Too|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/03/why-the-alt-left-is-a-problem|author=James Wolcott|periodical=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|publisher=[[Condé Nast Publications]]|date=March 2017}}</ref> |
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Its usage eventually circulated within conservative online media, and was popularized around those circles through its use by [[Fox News|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 [[Hannity (TV series)|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".<ref name="BlakeAltRightProblem"/><ref name="cnn-altleft"/><ref>{{cite news|title=What Is the Alt-Left? 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know|url=http://heavy.com/news/2017/08/alt-left-trump-hannity-antifa-charlottesville-meaning/|author=Daniel S. Levine|website=[[Heavy.com]]|publisher=Heavy Inc.|date=August 15, 2017|accessdate=August 16, 2017}}</ref> 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 [[Bernie Sanders|[Bernie] Sanders]] and [[Elizabeth Warren]] as extreme".<ref name="newrepublic-altleft">{{cite news|title=Liberalism Needs the “Alt-Left”|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/141143/liberalism-needs-alt-left|author=Clio Chang|periodical=[[The New Republic]]|date=March 6, 2017|accessdate=August 16, 2017}}</ref> |
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In an early use of the term, [[Gary Bauer]] stated on [[CNN]]'s ''[[The Lead with Jake Tapper]]'', "It's not alt-right, it's not alt-left; it's alt-delete. It's get the bums out," as a way of equating right- and left-wing populism.<ref name="BlakeAltRightProblem"/> |
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Both the term itself and the concept of an "alt-left" as a sort of opposite-but-equal mirror of the [[alt-right]] have generated controversy for "likening" the "socialist critics" of [[neo-Nazism]] "to neo-Nazis".<ref name="newrepublic-altleft"/><ref name="LevitzAltCenter">{{cite news|title=Why the Alt-Center Is a Problem, Too|url=http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/03/why-the-alt-center-is-a-problem-too.html|author=Eric Levitz|newspaper=[[New York (magazine)|New York Magazine]]|publisher=New York Media, LLC|date=March 3, 2017|accessdate=August 16, 2017}}</ref><ref name="HortonWhatIs">{{cite news|title=What is the ‘alt-left,’ which Trump just blamed for some of the violence in Charlottesville?|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/08/15/what-is-the-alt-left-which-trump-just-blamed-for-some-of-the-violence-in-charlottesville/|author=Alex Horton|newspaper=The Washington Post|publisher=Nash Holdings LLC|date=August 15, 2017|accessdate=August 16, 2017}}</ref> The term has also 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.<ref name="LevitzAltCenter"/><ref name="BlakeAltRightProblem"/> |
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==Usage== |
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According to Branko Marcetic, assistant editor of ''[[Jacobin (magazine)|Jacobin]]'' magazine, the label refers to a faction of the political left that does not exist, as the progressive or far left segments of political ideology do not identify by any other particular collective noun.<ref>{{cite news|title=Burying the Lie of the “Alt-Left”|url=https://jacobinmag.com/2017/08/charlottesville-alt-right-left-bernie-bros|author=Branko Marcetic|periodical=[[Jacobin (magazine)|Jacobin]]|date=August 14, 2017|accessdate=August 16, 2017}}</ref> |
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According to journalist [[Peter Beinart]], "What Trump calls “the alt left”... is actually [[antifa (United States)|antifa]]."<ref name="Beinart">{{cite news|title=What Trump calls “the alt left” (I’ll explain why that’s a bad term later) is actually antifa|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/08/what-trump-gets-wrong-about-antifa/537048/|author=Peter Beinart|periodical=The Atlantic|publisher=The Atlantic Media Group|date=August 16, 2017|accessdate=August 16, 2017}}</ref> [[Buzzfeed]] UK published an article about "alt-left media" in the United Kingdom in May 2016.<ref name="altleftmedia">{{cite news|title=The Rise Of The Alt-Left British Media|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/jimwaterson/the-rise-of-the-alt-left|author=Jim Waterson|website=[[Buzzfeed]]|publisher=BuzzFeed Inc.|date=May 6, 2016|accessdate=August 16, 2017}}</ref> The article refers to "alt-left" news websites such as Another Angry Voice, [[The Canary (political blog)|The Canary]], Evolve Politics and Skwawkbox, which are "hyperpartisan" supporters of [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] leader [[Jeremy Corbyn]].<ref name="altleftmedia"/> |
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[[Keri Smith]], in a piece published by the [[Foundation for Economic Education]], describes the "Alt-left", not as a movement, but as the ideology that undergirds Antifa, as well as other movements such as Black Lives Matter and [[intersectional]] [[third-wave feminism]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://fee.org/articles/yes-the-alt-left-exists-and-its-terrifying/|title=Yes, the Alt-Left Exists and It's Terrifying {{!}} Keri Smith|last=Smith|first=Keri|date=2017-09-06|access-date=2017-09-06|language=en-US}}</ref> |
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The term gained prevalence when U.S. president [[Donald Trump]] used the phrase during remarks on the [[Unite the Right rally|Charlottesville rally]] made on August 15, 2017.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/15/alt-left-donald-trump-said-violent-charlottesville/ What is the 'alt Left' that Donald Trump said was 'very violent' in Charlottesville?] The Telegraph, 16 Aug 2017.</ref><ref name="ShearHaberman">Michael D. Shear & Maggie Haberman, [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/us/politics/trump-press-conference-charlottesville.html A Combative Trump Criticizes 'Alt-Left' Groups in Charlottesville], ''Washington Post'' (August 15, 2017)</ref><ref name="MeghanKeneally">Meghan Keneally, [http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-lashes-alt-left-charlottesville-fine-people-sides/story?id=49235032 Trump lashes out at 'alt-left' in Charlottesville, says 'fine people on both sides'], ABC News (August 15, 2017)</ref><ref>Andrew Rafferty, [http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-defends-all-sides-comment-n793001 Trump Says 'Alt-Left' Shares Blame for Charlottesville Rally Violence], NBC News (August 15, 2017).</ref>. |
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==See also== |
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* [[Hard left]] |
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* [[Far-left politics]] |
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* [[Social justice warrior]] |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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{{Alt-right footer}} |
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[[Category:Far-left politics| ]] |
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[[Category:Political terminology]] |
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[[Category:Political spectrum]] |
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[[Category:American political neologisms]] |
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[[Category:Words coined in the 2010s]] |
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[[Category:Far-right politics]] |
Latest revision as of 18:53, 20 December 2024
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