How X Tried to Turn Me Into a Right-Wing Extremist – And the Road Back

What a road, let me tell you. I like to think of myself as a moderate and balanced individual. Ever since I can remember, I had an appetite for our mild version of social-democracy and most of its tolerant and light conservative principles, with a splash of liberalism here and there.

Living in a country where freedom was only made available a mere 50 years ago, proudly and without any bloodshed, I've witnessed the reasons driving us to Socialism and left-wing policies. Social welfare, while essential in my beliefs, shouldn't become a subsidy-dependence. A burden for taxpayers. Yet, it has, in a country where productivity levels still fall behind most EU standards.

Along the same lines of other developed nations, an appetite for less-tolerant, louder politics arose. We've seen it before, shouted to "never again", yet here they are, against everything we were taught in elementary school.

They are present in the right-wing parties and their influence across Europe. Nationalism, anti-immigration, some more intolerant than others – all synonyms in what is a way of being in politics and life, and which, as far as I remember, lead to the rise of some of history's darkest periods.

Sure, we can argue on the very nuances, but the principles are all there. The victimization, the false statements, the excessive noise. All powered by the engines of social media and the likes of X. I dove into that world, and witnessed how it fed me with extremism and what were, by all means, banned ideologies a little bit all over Europe.

Here's how that happened.?

My Fake Yet Moderate Profile?

I'm not a complete idiot. I've been online for over nearly three decades now, and there was no way I was going to interact with extremist accounts - and parties - without a fake account. Through some content marketing magic and the aid of AI, I built a believable profile with a very credible backstory. A script, if you will, serving as foundation for his views, interactions, and outcomes.

The persona wasn't an extremist to start with, but the personal traits defined meant they could be corrupted. Invited to take part in the rhetoric, and eventually, real events.

You'd be forgiven to think this person was real. Far more real than the numerous accounts where individuals wear masks or take flags, national symbols and historical personalities as a definition of identity. Even extremists recognize that they have more to lose at this point by showing their identity, and perhaps that's a plus for the health of our democracies.

The principle "keep it polite, but keep them in check" is an effective strategy. It won't get you blocked immediately for your comments, as you slowly debunk many of the extremist principles at hand. There's a belief that you're either with them – and your nation – or against. Opt for the second, and you become a natural enemy.

You Get What You Pay For?

If you don't know it yet, let me tell you this: you'll find any kind of rhetoric you're after in X. Immediately. There's a group of youngsters marching and calling for a "reconquest". They shout loudly, march on the streets, flags raised, while copying the very same principles on which dictatorships were famous for not too long ago. Never too long, as they are still out there.

There are absurd poses, moustaches, and national symbols in the blender. I feel a second-hand embarrassment. However, there is no trace of shame – or self-awareness, in many cases – while the hate speech is only beginning. Their approval seeking comes from the underprivileged, or at least, the ones who fell short of their expectations.

Likewise, there is an abundance of extremely active, fake profiles. They seek to build engagement and should you attempt to line up with their ideas, you'll soon undercover a renewed deeper, darker level. There are groups and communities, and in the shadows, they're planning to take over. For that to happen, they need to build the numbers first.

There's no shortage of homophobic speech. A constant share of decontextualized pictures and videos of non-binary or homosexual individuals, with an all-too-natural intent to claim the demise of "social decency" and blame it on left wing parties. There are numerous assaults on science and climate change policies, COVID-19 negationists, but above all, a crystal-clear hate for all immigrants.

I haven't even got to the fake news, as they're ever present. A constant flow of videos, and out-of-context material. Without a single effort to fact-check, I observe the very same target: the immigrant community. They want them gone, deported, some even, killed. There's so much hate speech, in the endless flow that is your X feed if you let it. It can easily kill your soul and hope for Humanity, if you let it shape your experience.

How it Happens?

This will never happen to me. I repeat those words, while considering my solid education and human principles, built on the tolerance towards others that my parents and grandparents structured so well. We are a country of emigrants, with millions living abroad. Diminishing others as human beings is beyond double standards, and that's one of the first proven principles of intellectual dishonesty.

But, as I mentioned, the flow of hatred powered by fake news is constant, and the algorithm ensures you're fed more and more of it. As much as you can take. Look at it long enough, and you'll start wondering if border control is such a bad thing. If the already unbalanced social services aren't worse due to weak immigration policies. If that crime was, in fact, perpetrated by foreigners.

Where does it stop? Do we deport anyone and everyone – if so, how, and where to? Do we then force our citizens, those with lower education, to do the jobs only immigrants take? Who will work the fields, provide cleaning services, particularly, in exchange for miserable wages?

Above all, I wanted to find a way into the mind of the intolerant. And boy, did I find it in all its unglorified essence. It's a scary place to be, where the "traditional family" is supported by notions that were left in the past for good reason. I wonder if our educational system failed us, or if the actual politics. Perhaps both, and perhaps ourselves for not caring more, too.

Unregulated immigration IS an issue. It does cause unbalance in any society, and therefore, should be addressed. But can we distance ourselves from all the progress at others' expense? Through the most prosperous decade in history, did we ever stop for a second to share a slice of it with those who needed it the most?

The Twisted Plot?

I don't have the answers, but I have all the questions in the world. Most importantly, I want my son to live in a safe country, as much as I want him to be as tolerant – if not more – than I am. And while I dislike the word "tolerance", as it assumes you're accepting something/someone rather unnaturally, I'd prefer to witness progress across the world's poorest nations.

If countries like Brazil or Bangladesh offered enough dignity to most of their citizens, they would refrain from moving. Particularly those who move and face a severe cultural shock. You see, we've done the same at our lowest, and still do when it comes to our finest minds. It's in our nature to seek the best possible living conditions. For you, your children, your family.

Musk's View on Freedom of Speech

This takes me back to the beginning. X is like Trump. It's like this ideology and many others. You can't help looking at the ugly side, and the more you do, the more you risk becoming addicted.

Our lives have turned into a digital soap opera, and there's no sign that it'll ever be any different soon. The digital overflow of tailor-made information to validate our views is extremely dangerous. We turn on traditional news because they won't do just that.

Simultaneously, across developed nations, that same information and journalism, more specifically, is no longer the beacon of independence we once had at our disposal. And boy, how we could do with some of its principles right now.

I'm not comfortable having billionaires dictating how we consume information. Particularly through means that profit from any angle, any rhetoric, any type of content. It's no wonder several developed nations are rising to limit that one-sided interpretation of freedom of speech.

We're at a crossroad. We either pick the path where truth is valued and protected, or we follow the one that keeps validating someone else's news and agenda. It's 2024, and it's already hard to define what truth really means to each one of us.

A Final Note

My social experiment didn't change how I feel about others and what I believe to be the road to a better world. We can't expect to prosper at the expense of other people on Earth. And while that is still the best system we have at our disposal, it's become severely disproportionate.

The world still needs more empathy. It needs to promote peace and progress across nations where people desperately try to escape misery. Travel the world and see it for yourself to understand why someone will risk everything - their lives and their families' to aim for a better place.

You'd do the exact same, and so would I. After all, the lines and borders that separate us are but mere products of our imagination.

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