The social psychology behind the trans terrorism panic
How Americans are manipulated by online misinformation and political rhetoric.
Words by Jelinda Montes, Uncloseted Media
Joseph McConville’s first memory of being online was at 13-year-old when he started playing Neopets, a virtual pet game, at his home in Boynton Beach, Florida. At the time, he had no clue that just months later, the internet would suck him into the alt-right.
As a young white man, McConville says he was taught to believe that he’d ‘have everything he wanted.’
He started to realise this dream wouldn’t come to fruition when he was pulled out of private school as his parents struggled during the 2008 recession.
McConville quickly graduated from kids games to popular social media sites like MySpace and Facebook. But it was when he found FunnyJunk.com in ninth grade that he started being exposed to alt-right content.
The website gave users the ability to upload memes and upvote popular content. When McConville began using it, he was initially exposed to dark humour and edgy right-wing memes.
From Mothers to Mythbusting: This Month in Queer
Welcome to another issue where queer culture does what it does best: refuses to fit neatly into one genre. We’ve got a pop mother, bi discourse, butch rebellion, political myth-busting and a guide to the queer films that will dominate your 2026 watchlist. You know, balance!