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Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics
This tour de force of investigative journalism—in the vein of The Next Civil War and Why We’re Polarized—reveals how the battle between the right and left is spilling out from the darkest corners of the internet into the real world with often tragic consequences.
Award-winning journalist and CNN correspondent Elle Reeve was not surprised by the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. With years of in-depth research and on-the-ground investigative reporting under her belt, Reeve was aware of the preoccupations of the online far right and their journey from the computer to QAnon, militias, and racist groups.
At the same time, Reeve saw a parallel growth of counterforces, with citizen vigilantes using new tools and tactics to take down the far right. This ongoing battle, long fought mainly on the internet, had arrived in the real world with greater and greater frequency.
With a sharp eye for detail and a dash of dark humor, Reeve explains the origins of this shocking sweep of political violence. Drawing on countless interviews with sources in the white nationalist movement as well as hundreds of as-yet-unseen documents, she takes us on a surreal journey from the darkest corners of the internet to the most significant and chilling scenes of real-world political violence in generations. A stranger-than-fiction odyssey into the dark heart of what American politics has become, Black Pill is necessary reading for any supporter of democracy.
Award-winning journalist and CNN correspondent Elle Reeve was not surprised by the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. With years of in-depth research and on-the-ground investigative reporting under her belt, Reeve was aware of the preoccupations of the online far right and their journey from the computer to QAnon, militias, and racist groups.
At the same time, Reeve saw a parallel growth of counterforces, with citizen vigilantes using new tools and tactics to take down the far right. This ongoing battle, long fought mainly on the internet, had arrived in the real world with greater and greater frequency.
With a sharp eye for detail and a dash of dark humor, Reeve explains the origins of this shocking sweep of political violence. Drawing on countless interviews with sources in the white nationalist movement as well as hundreds of as-yet-unseen documents, she takes us on a surreal journey from the darkest corners of the internet to the most significant and chilling scenes of real-world political violence in generations. A stranger-than-fiction odyssey into the dark heart of what American politics has become, Black Pill is necessary reading for any supporter of democracy.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 9, 2024
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January 9, 2024
Reeve's deep dive into the alt-right movement both fascinated and repulsed me. I first learned about this counterculture when I read Talia Lavin's Culture Warriors. Anyone who is part of the alt-right, and even some conservatives, may not be the right audience for this book. As a person who seeks justice for those harmed by the alt-right, I was grateful for the work Reeve did here, especially since she put herself and her crew in danger so many times. She investigates incels, Gamergate, and the different chan boards that have contributed to these uprisings. She also interviews many of the key figures and gives the history of Charlottesville and January 6. I had no idea about the degree of organization and cruelty that informed those protests. The resolution does provide some hope, and there is plenty of reasoning about why and how this movement began. I know this thinking will never go away - humans have been cruel since the dawn of time - but I can only hope this book will help to minimize the harm and that Reeve will stay safe during her work.
December 23, 2024
Journalist Elle Reeve---a petite, bespectacled blonde---has, over the years, embedded herself among some of the most dangerous people in the country and in some of the most dangerous events in our country's recent history. She has interviewed violent incels ("involuntary celibates"), white nationalists, and neo-nazis. She was present during the 2016 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia (she happened to be right around the corner when James Alex Fields Jr. purposely drove his car through a crowd of protestors, killing Heather Heyer) and she was there on the Capitol steps on January 6, 2021.
She writes about her experiences in her book "Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics". It is perhaps one of the most disturbing and cogent examinations of life in this absurdist nation in the 21st century.
Her research draws a straight line from Fred Brennan, a wheelchair-bound computer genius, who created the website 8chan in 2013 as a way for fellow incels to find a healthy forum, to Richard Spencer, a white supremacist best known for both coining the phrase, and being the main spokesperson for, the "Alt-Right" movement to the events of J6.
Despite being inundated and surrounded by some of the most vile misogynists, racists, and assholes who just wanted to commit violence because they were bored with their trailer trash lives, Reeve still manages to have a sense of humor throughout, which is probably what kept her sane. She also talks about the protective nature of the camera when interviewing these people. Most of these cretins love the attention and the thought that they may be on television.
Strangely enough, Reeve built up a few unlikely friendships with many of these people. Like the best of journalists, Reeve is able to uncover the humanity buried beneath some of the most inhumane personalities she encounters.
The title, by the way, is a reference to the movie The Matrix, in which the protagonist, Neo, is confronted with two options: the red pill, which will allow him to see the truth of the world, or the blue pill, which will enable him to live a blissful life of ignorance. Black pills (not in the film) are a third alternative: recognition and acceptance that the world is broken and close to absolute annihilation and that one may as well help it along. Reeve's contention is that this is the option chosen by many of the incels, white supremacists, and neo-nazis that she talked with over the years.
Additional material:
(https://www.pbs.org/video/author-elle...)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kerg2...)
She writes about her experiences in her book "Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics". It is perhaps one of the most disturbing and cogent examinations of life in this absurdist nation in the 21st century.
Her research draws a straight line from Fred Brennan, a wheelchair-bound computer genius, who created the website 8chan in 2013 as a way for fellow incels to find a healthy forum, to Richard Spencer, a white supremacist best known for both coining the phrase, and being the main spokesperson for, the "Alt-Right" movement to the events of J6.
Despite being inundated and surrounded by some of the most vile misogynists, racists, and assholes who just wanted to commit violence because they were bored with their trailer trash lives, Reeve still manages to have a sense of humor throughout, which is probably what kept her sane. She also talks about the protective nature of the camera when interviewing these people. Most of these cretins love the attention and the thought that they may be on television.
Strangely enough, Reeve built up a few unlikely friendships with many of these people. Like the best of journalists, Reeve is able to uncover the humanity buried beneath some of the most inhumane personalities she encounters.
The title, by the way, is a reference to the movie The Matrix, in which the protagonist, Neo, is confronted with two options: the red pill, which will allow him to see the truth of the world, or the blue pill, which will enable him to live a blissful life of ignorance. Black pills (not in the film) are a third alternative: recognition and acceptance that the world is broken and close to absolute annihilation and that one may as well help it along. Reeve's contention is that this is the option chosen by many of the incels, white supremacists, and neo-nazis that she talked with over the years.
Additional material:
(https://www.pbs.org/video/author-elle...)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kerg2...)
July 11, 2024
I've been astonished and fearful of the growth of violence in America, as I'm sure many others have, and picked this book up to try to understand more about the roots of the problems of racism, violence, and the mentality of the "far right".
Description:
This tour de force of investigative journalism—in the vein of The Next Civil War and Why We’re Polarized —depicts the United States of America as a country at a crossroads with the battle between the right and left spilling out from the darkest corners of the internet into the real world with often tragic consequences.
Award-winning journalist and CNN correspondent Elle Reeve was not surprised by the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. With years of in-depth research and probing interviews under her belt, Reeve was aware of the preoccupations of the online far right and their journey from the computer to QAnon, militias, and racist groups.
At the same time, Reeve saw a parallel growth of counterforces, with citizen vigilantes using new tools and tactics to take down the far right. This ongoing battle, long fought mainly on the internet, has spilled out into the real world with greater and greater frequency, culminating in the attempted coup on January 6th.
Combining her years of on-the-ground reporting, Reeve clearly illustrates this shocking sweep of violence, where this cultural shift came from, and where it is going. She also introduces us to a shocking but powerful cast of characters, such as the creator of 8chan—an online hub for conspiracies and misogynistic rhetoric—and the white power leader who is still pulling the strings from a prison cell. Uncovering the hidden links between these events and how we can prevent further upheavals of this nature, Black Pill is a necessary read for any supporter of democracy.
My Thoughts:
Let me just say that I found this book difficult to read. I'm still reeling from it. I can't wrap my head around how someone can become so twisted and hateful, regardless of their circumstances. Nonetheless, it is happening and continues to happen. It is more and more prevalent and if we don't find some way to stop it America will be nothing but a battlefield. I am even more afraid after reading this book - even though some of the people described here have, luckily, turned their lives around for the better.I have to admit that I actually felt unclean after reading this material. I do think it helps to understand a little of what turns someone to this type of lifestyle. It's just very sad and disheartening. The reseach was well done and I admire the author for being able to accumulate the information and put it in readable form.
Thanks to Atria Books through Netgalley for an advance copy.
Description:
This tour de force of investigative journalism—in the vein of The Next Civil War and Why We’re Polarized —depicts the United States of America as a country at a crossroads with the battle between the right and left spilling out from the darkest corners of the internet into the real world with often tragic consequences.
Award-winning journalist and CNN correspondent Elle Reeve was not surprised by the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. With years of in-depth research and probing interviews under her belt, Reeve was aware of the preoccupations of the online far right and their journey from the computer to QAnon, militias, and racist groups.
At the same time, Reeve saw a parallel growth of counterforces, with citizen vigilantes using new tools and tactics to take down the far right. This ongoing battle, long fought mainly on the internet, has spilled out into the real world with greater and greater frequency, culminating in the attempted coup on January 6th.
Combining her years of on-the-ground reporting, Reeve clearly illustrates this shocking sweep of violence, where this cultural shift came from, and where it is going. She also introduces us to a shocking but powerful cast of characters, such as the creator of 8chan—an online hub for conspiracies and misogynistic rhetoric—and the white power leader who is still pulling the strings from a prison cell. Uncovering the hidden links between these events and how we can prevent further upheavals of this nature, Black Pill is a necessary read for any supporter of democracy.
My Thoughts:
Let me just say that I found this book difficult to read. I'm still reeling from it. I can't wrap my head around how someone can become so twisted and hateful, regardless of their circumstances. Nonetheless, it is happening and continues to happen. It is more and more prevalent and if we don't find some way to stop it America will be nothing but a battlefield. I am even more afraid after reading this book - even though some of the people described here have, luckily, turned their lives around for the better.I have to admit that I actually felt unclean after reading this material. I do think it helps to understand a little of what turns someone to this type of lifestyle. It's just very sad and disheartening. The reseach was well done and I admire the author for being able to accumulate the information and put it in readable form.
Thanks to Atria Books through Netgalley for an advance copy.
March 31, 2025
Elle Reeve is still famous for her viral 2017 Vice video about the Charlottesville white supremacist rally, nearly a decade later, which is sadly still extremely relevant.
Her new book Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics is a deep dive into all the background of that day, and its aftermath. And moreover, it’s about the background and aftermath of all that has happened to the entirety of America (and the world) in this unfortunate era.
The book starts with a surprisingly personal tale of the journalist’s childhood—of when Reeve’s childhood neighbor stalked and harassed her family. There’s a direct line, she explains, from how she learned to deal with that at a young age and to how she later made a career out of interacting with extremists.
When it gets to the modern internet era, there is an exploration of incel culture featuring interviews with Fred Brannon, the disabled programmer who founded 8kun and even had a connection to the start of the QAnon movement. Brannon disavows his earlier work, and is very open about his regrets from those wild days of the internet when they didn’t know being offensive and “ironic” online would lead to such horrific real-world repercussions. There’s also a very frank discussion of sexuality, not only about how these people felt as older virgins but also about how they felt when they first had sex and didn’t get to be a part of the incel community anymore. A fascinating and counter-intuitive perspective.
The book then continues into the culture of abject white supremacy, and it is grim. She interviews Richard Spencer and others of the alt right, getting into all their crackpot theories and hateful ideology. It gets dark. Some of the worst of it isn’t even the racism, but the sexism, because as she explains they never quite got their fascist revolution and chance to play out their racist fantasies: So therefore, they rather focused on controlling the women in their personal lives. I thought I knew a lot but I had never before heard the term “white sharia,” and just how much they hate women having any freedoms. It’s a strange thing that so many racist women joined the movement, because they thought it would benefit them, and then felt oppressed by these abusive men, which happened again and again.
Eventually, that movement seemed vindicated by the 2016 election and then comes the terrible Unite the Right rally of the following year which ended in a deadly car attack. This is when Reeve focuses on interviewing Christopher Cantwell, who incriminated himself so much in the famous Vice report and later became known as the Crying Nazi after his life fell apart. He is a very disturbed individual, with emotional and addiction problems, which feels like a sort of vindication to learn.
Reeve warns, however, that it’s not enough to think of these people as losers. Many of them are quite smart in fact, at least by some metrics. The simple truth of it is that it doesn’t matter if they are losers, many so-called losers don’t become domestic terrorists, and it doesn’t matter if they are smart as many smart people don’t become vicious extremists online. The important thing is to analyze the big picture and understand why the internet and society as a whole has driven so many people in this direction. Brennon, sadly, speaks of how wrong he was when he envisioned his website as a way for “unlimited” free speech to lead to positive ideas, and instead it turned into a nightmare of shitposting in which only the worst of humanity got the most attention…
While most of the awful characters in this book get their comeuppance, such as Richard Spencer who loses everything and faces devastating legal consequences, it’s hardly a happy ending. Yes, these figures specifically ultimately lost everything and completely failed at becoming part of the mainstream. But that’s little comfort at this point.
The book was published before the most recent election, when it seemed that January 6th, 2021 was the worst it could get. Now we are on an even darker path influenced by these people blackpilled on the internet, and while many of the outright fascists didn’t get any material benefits it sure seems like their ideas are majorly influencing this current government.
Personally, I don’t know how Elle Reeve could stand to be around them and get so much information from these people. But I’m glad she did, because it is necessary to learn in order to fight back.
No doubt she’ll have to write another book when this administration is over and America needs to do some serious soul-searching, and indeed she will be uniquely qualified to understand what the hell has happened.
Her new book Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics is a deep dive into all the background of that day, and its aftermath. And moreover, it’s about the background and aftermath of all that has happened to the entirety of America (and the world) in this unfortunate era.
The book starts with a surprisingly personal tale of the journalist’s childhood—of when Reeve’s childhood neighbor stalked and harassed her family. There’s a direct line, she explains, from how she learned to deal with that at a young age and to how she later made a career out of interacting with extremists.
When it gets to the modern internet era, there is an exploration of incel culture featuring interviews with Fred Brannon, the disabled programmer who founded 8kun and even had a connection to the start of the QAnon movement. Brannon disavows his earlier work, and is very open about his regrets from those wild days of the internet when they didn’t know being offensive and “ironic” online would lead to such horrific real-world repercussions. There’s also a very frank discussion of sexuality, not only about how these people felt as older virgins but also about how they felt when they first had sex and didn’t get to be a part of the incel community anymore. A fascinating and counter-intuitive perspective.
The book then continues into the culture of abject white supremacy, and it is grim. She interviews Richard Spencer and others of the alt right, getting into all their crackpot theories and hateful ideology. It gets dark. Some of the worst of it isn’t even the racism, but the sexism, because as she explains they never quite got their fascist revolution and chance to play out their racist fantasies: So therefore, they rather focused on controlling the women in their personal lives. I thought I knew a lot but I had never before heard the term “white sharia,” and just how much they hate women having any freedoms. It’s a strange thing that so many racist women joined the movement, because they thought it would benefit them, and then felt oppressed by these abusive men, which happened again and again.
Eventually, that movement seemed vindicated by the 2016 election and then comes the terrible Unite the Right rally of the following year which ended in a deadly car attack. This is when Reeve focuses on interviewing Christopher Cantwell, who incriminated himself so much in the famous Vice report and later became known as the Crying Nazi after his life fell apart. He is a very disturbed individual, with emotional and addiction problems, which feels like a sort of vindication to learn.
Reeve warns, however, that it’s not enough to think of these people as losers. Many of them are quite smart in fact, at least by some metrics. The simple truth of it is that it doesn’t matter if they are losers, many so-called losers don’t become domestic terrorists, and it doesn’t matter if they are smart as many smart people don’t become vicious extremists online. The important thing is to analyze the big picture and understand why the internet and society as a whole has driven so many people in this direction. Brennon, sadly, speaks of how wrong he was when he envisioned his website as a way for “unlimited” free speech to lead to positive ideas, and instead it turned into a nightmare of shitposting in which only the worst of humanity got the most attention…
While most of the awful characters in this book get their comeuppance, such as Richard Spencer who loses everything and faces devastating legal consequences, it’s hardly a happy ending. Yes, these figures specifically ultimately lost everything and completely failed at becoming part of the mainstream. But that’s little comfort at this point.
The book was published before the most recent election, when it seemed that January 6th, 2021 was the worst it could get. Now we are on an even darker path influenced by these people blackpilled on the internet, and while many of the outright fascists didn’t get any material benefits it sure seems like their ideas are majorly influencing this current government.
Personally, I don’t know how Elle Reeve could stand to be around them and get so much information from these people. But I’m glad she did, because it is necessary to learn in order to fight back.
No doubt she’ll have to write another book when this administration is over and America needs to do some serious soul-searching, and indeed she will be uniquely qualified to understand what the hell has happened.
February 22, 2024
I like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me a chance of reading this disturbing book.
While some books have covered the whole alt-right, Q and 45 supporter timeline / time-frame, this book goes into the minuscule details. The hows and why, the things that pushed it into the light. Let's call it the calm before the storm, though in this aspect it's certainly not anything but calm.
This book was absolutely disturbing to read, and the interviews and recorded / typed information presented in this book are equally disturbing. Sometimes while reading a chunk I had to take a step away from my kindle because it just perplexed and disturbed me that a group of people existed like this on the internet, thought this way, acted this way. I honestly wanted to unread what I read.
I encourage any one who is intrigued and wants to read a documented account of someone who was there for some of the big moments of the alt-right agenda / rise.
While some books have covered the whole alt-right, Q and 45 supporter timeline / time-frame, this book goes into the minuscule details. The hows and why, the things that pushed it into the light. Let's call it the calm before the storm, though in this aspect it's certainly not anything but calm.
This book was absolutely disturbing to read, and the interviews and recorded / typed information presented in this book are equally disturbing. Sometimes while reading a chunk I had to take a step away from my kindle because it just perplexed and disturbed me that a group of people existed like this on the internet, thought this way, acted this way. I honestly wanted to unread what I read.
I encourage any one who is intrigued and wants to read a documented account of someone who was there for some of the big moments of the alt-right agenda / rise.
November 6, 2024
Finishing this book on November 6th, 2024, the day Donald Trump was re-elected president of the United States, was staggering. It appears the majority of America has been Black-Pilled. As Reeve encourages in her epilogue, those of us who have not taken the bait must now more than ever dive into the fabric of history to make this country a place we can tolerate living in: a place that is just and equitable and fair and peaceful and radically empathetic and most of all, safe. For everyone.
August 29, 2024
The NY Times review of "Black Pill” bore the headline, "If you want to understand why democracy is under attack, read this book." A bit reductive but not entirely over the top. The book does shed light on an important and insufficiently understood part of the current socio-political environment -- the world of loud, often anonymous men threatening race war, civil war, and sexual violence, and waving neo-Nazi flags and tiki torches. What Elle Reeve (formerly of Vice, now at CNN) does in this provocative and unsettling book is shed light onto explore "black pilling" is, who the key figures in the movement are, what they've done, what they're after, how the movement moved from social media into the real world, and the impact it's having on our political culture. It's a portrait made not of broad strokes alone but of individual personalities and resentments and dark aspirations.
Some background: In the 1999 movie "The Matrix" Keanu Reeves' character Neo is offered a choice between two pills, one blue and one red. The blue pill leaves Neo's world exactly as it is, nothing is different. The red pill, however, changes everything: it reveals to Neo that what has always seemed real to him is in fact illusion. Real reality is something he's never seen or suspected at all: Taking the red pill meant learning the hidden truth of things.
The red pill/blue pill meme quickly entered the public lexicon, particularly on social media. Then, in 2011, a new color pill was introduced on an incel blog: the black pill. The black pill began is as a kind of inside joke/non-joke (kidding/not kidding) for a small group of unhappy or angry men who were resigned to being involuntary celibates, victims of feminism and a de-masculinized culture. Most of the postings involved grousing and posturing, little more.
In time, though, the environment changed. New names and avatars started to appear on message boards. Some seemed to “get the joke,” others didn’t. Some didn't seem to be joking at all. Comments on social media about rape and mass murder and race war were now being taken seriously by people. Conspiracy thinking spread. In time, what was spoken online started seeping out into reality: the virginal would-be wizards of the early platforms were supplanted by the conspiracists on 8Chan and believers in QAnon, by neo-Nazis and Proud Boys, torch-bearers at Charlottesville "Unite the Right" riot in 2017 ("Jews will not replace us!") and participants in the January 6 assault of the Capitol. What was once invisible, silly, and pathetic was now in clear sight and it was no longer any of those things.
This is the Reeve penetrates. She describes the essence of black pill thinking as "gleeful nihilism: the system is corrupt, and its collapse is inevitable. There is no hope. Times are bad and they’re going to get worse. You swallow the black pill and accept the end is coming. Taking the black pill allows you to justify any action: cruelty, intimidation, violence. The people you hurt are beneath you, because they’re still blinded by society’s lies. If your actions cause more violence and chaos, that’s good, because it will help bring about an end to the corrupt regime."
Scary stuff, but what does it mean? Who are these threatening figures? It's important to note here that “Black Pill” chronicles a deeply personal voyage; there's no academic detachment here. Over the course of several years, Reeve -- who is small in stature, pretty, blond, half-Jewish, and utterly fearless -- sat down with (and in one case shared a ride in the back of a van with) and spoke at length with key figures in the movement. There's Fred Brennan, for example, creator of 8Chan. Brennan suffers from a severe congenital disease that makes his bones very fragile and confines him to a wheelchair. His interaction with the world was, from a young age, almost entirely virtual. He was a strong advocate of absolute free speech and eugenics (his mother had the same condition and he was furious at his parents for having him)... until he saw where it was all going and dropped out. Then there's Richard Spencer, organizer of Unite the Right -- not quite what the media thought he was. Elliott Kline of the white supremacist group Identity Evropa. Chris Cantwell (the so-called "Crying Nazi"), Mark Parrott and Matt Heimbach (co-founders of the neo-Nazi Traditionalist Worker Party). Talking by phone or online, meeting one-on-one, sitting in on discussions in motel rooms, ignoring their taunts and threats -- all these encounters gave Reeve insight into how these people thought, what motivated them, what led them to get involved in the movement, and how much of what they said was bluster and how much truly threatening. Her report is in equal measure terrifying and sad.
In the end, “Black Pill” probably raises more questions than it answers, but I don’t see that as a flaw. They’re important questions — about politics, the culture of the internet, psychology, MAGA, and a lot of other things -- and they're playing important parts in the country today.
Reeve’s narration of her book is very well done.
Some background: In the 1999 movie "The Matrix" Keanu Reeves' character Neo is offered a choice between two pills, one blue and one red. The blue pill leaves Neo's world exactly as it is, nothing is different. The red pill, however, changes everything: it reveals to Neo that what has always seemed real to him is in fact illusion. Real reality is something he's never seen or suspected at all: Taking the red pill meant learning the hidden truth of things.
The red pill/blue pill meme quickly entered the public lexicon, particularly on social media. Then, in 2011, a new color pill was introduced on an incel blog: the black pill. The black pill began is as a kind of inside joke/non-joke (kidding/not kidding) for a small group of unhappy or angry men who were resigned to being involuntary celibates, victims of feminism and a de-masculinized culture. Most of the postings involved grousing and posturing, little more.
In time, though, the environment changed. New names and avatars started to appear on message boards. Some seemed to “get the joke,” others didn’t. Some didn't seem to be joking at all. Comments on social media about rape and mass murder and race war were now being taken seriously by people. Conspiracy thinking spread. In time, what was spoken online started seeping out into reality: the virginal would-be wizards of the early platforms were supplanted by the conspiracists on 8Chan and believers in QAnon, by neo-Nazis and Proud Boys, torch-bearers at Charlottesville "Unite the Right" riot in 2017 ("Jews will not replace us!") and participants in the January 6 assault of the Capitol. What was once invisible, silly, and pathetic was now in clear sight and it was no longer any of those things.
This is the Reeve penetrates. She describes the essence of black pill thinking as "gleeful nihilism: the system is corrupt, and its collapse is inevitable. There is no hope. Times are bad and they’re going to get worse. You swallow the black pill and accept the end is coming. Taking the black pill allows you to justify any action: cruelty, intimidation, violence. The people you hurt are beneath you, because they’re still blinded by society’s lies. If your actions cause more violence and chaos, that’s good, because it will help bring about an end to the corrupt regime."
Scary stuff, but what does it mean? Who are these threatening figures? It's important to note here that “Black Pill” chronicles a deeply personal voyage; there's no academic detachment here. Over the course of several years, Reeve -- who is small in stature, pretty, blond, half-Jewish, and utterly fearless -- sat down with (and in one case shared a ride in the back of a van with) and spoke at length with key figures in the movement. There's Fred Brennan, for example, creator of 8Chan. Brennan suffers from a severe congenital disease that makes his bones very fragile and confines him to a wheelchair. His interaction with the world was, from a young age, almost entirely virtual. He was a strong advocate of absolute free speech and eugenics (his mother had the same condition and he was furious at his parents for having him)... until he saw where it was all going and dropped out. Then there's Richard Spencer, organizer of Unite the Right -- not quite what the media thought he was. Elliott Kline of the white supremacist group Identity Evropa. Chris Cantwell (the so-called "Crying Nazi"), Mark Parrott and Matt Heimbach (co-founders of the neo-Nazi Traditionalist Worker Party). Talking by phone or online, meeting one-on-one, sitting in on discussions in motel rooms, ignoring their taunts and threats -- all these encounters gave Reeve insight into how these people thought, what motivated them, what led them to get involved in the movement, and how much of what they said was bluster and how much truly threatening. Her report is in equal measure terrifying and sad.
In the end, “Black Pill” probably raises more questions than it answers, but I don’t see that as a flaw. They’re important questions — about politics, the culture of the internet, psychology, MAGA, and a lot of other things -- and they're playing important parts in the country today.
Reeve’s narration of her book is very well done.
January 17, 2025
[3.5] This enlightening analysis of how the digital age has helped fuel the alt right movement relies heavily on Reeve’s in-the-trenches reporting and revealing interviews with some key players.
“Black Pill” is impressive investigative reporting. I agree with some who suggest that the work would have been further strengthened had the author explored the historical links between the rise of white nationalism in earlier eras and the contemporary movements that have flourished in “the darkest corners of the internet.”
Readers who have at least tenuously followed these controversies will likely derive the most insights from Reeve’s deep-dive. Those who are unfamiliar with some specific incidents or the lingo might find “Black Pill” a bit disjointed or confusing in spots.
Overall, the book is a fascinating examination of a complex and incredibly timely issue.
“Black Pill” is impressive investigative reporting. I agree with some who suggest that the work would have been further strengthened had the author explored the historical links between the rise of white nationalism in earlier eras and the contemporary movements that have flourished in “the darkest corners of the internet.”
Readers who have at least tenuously followed these controversies will likely derive the most insights from Reeve’s deep-dive. Those who are unfamiliar with some specific incidents or the lingo might find “Black Pill” a bit disjointed or confusing in spots.
Overall, the book is a fascinating examination of a complex and incredibly timely issue.
September 25, 2024
Well damn
April 2, 2025
Black Pill is a mixture of research and interviews (spanning from 2013-2023) that seeks to explain how we got to this political moment. Reeve focuses in on people who play/played a big part in QAnon, militia, and white supremacist movements. My main issue with this book is that it takes some extremist's words at face value around what they now believe. "Formers" like Matthew Heimbach and Jeff Schoep were said to be disillusioned and out of the movement but no mention of how they refused to cooperate/turn over evidence with their court case. I was also concerned how Heimbach's fast turn around to becoming a "marxist" was taken at face value with little exploration or explanation about what his marxism is (it's National Bolshevism which is a neo-fascist and third positionist ideology).
More info here:
politicalresearch.org/2022/05/11/can-...
www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/05/1...
idontspeakgerman.libsyn.com/55-matt-h...
January 27, 2025
For the most part, this is a brilliant, evocative, empathetic exposé of the alt-right, both online and in person, with a focus on the Charlottesville riots. I think it’s crucial for people to read this book to be aware of the hate-filled, bigoted forces behind the current Republican administration.
However, there are entire sections of this book that pull you out of the important journalism being done to share Reeve’s ableist theories about the role of autism in online extremism. She fails to denounce baseless claims that all 8chan users are autistic, that you have to be autistic to be so obsessively hateful, or that autism is an explanation for race or gender based violence. She even expresses horror at the idea that she may be autistic, as it would make her more like the hateful people she investigates.
Reeve also has a tendency to brush over racist attitudes to instead focus on sexist beliefs, which comes across a bit insular and white feminism-esque. For example, perhaps she could have pointed out the irony and hypocrisy of all the white supremacists denouncing sexism for being ok with gender-based violence against non-white women? There were many instances where I think the book could have been improved if it was reviewed or edited by Black women, autistic women, or just people from positionalities different from Reeve’s.
I’m also worried that Reeve dangerously downplays the extent to which the alt-right still exists. She briefly alludes to more recent manifestations of far-right prejudices, but portrays them as somehow less extreme or pertinent. I think with current events unfolding as they are, it is evident that this is not the case.
That said, Reeve’s writing is thoughtful, engaging, and vital in our current climate. I hope Reeve writes a follow-up book based on her more recent investigative journalism—I’d look forward to reading it, and sharing her impressive, well-written insights.
However, there are entire sections of this book that pull you out of the important journalism being done to share Reeve’s ableist theories about the role of autism in online extremism. She fails to denounce baseless claims that all 8chan users are autistic, that you have to be autistic to be so obsessively hateful, or that autism is an explanation for race or gender based violence. She even expresses horror at the idea that she may be autistic, as it would make her more like the hateful people she investigates.
Reeve also has a tendency to brush over racist attitudes to instead focus on sexist beliefs, which comes across a bit insular and white feminism-esque. For example, perhaps she could have pointed out the irony and hypocrisy of all the white supremacists denouncing sexism for being ok with gender-based violence against non-white women? There were many instances where I think the book could have been improved if it was reviewed or edited by Black women, autistic women, or just people from positionalities different from Reeve’s.
I’m also worried that Reeve dangerously downplays the extent to which the alt-right still exists. She briefly alludes to more recent manifestations of far-right prejudices, but portrays them as somehow less extreme or pertinent. I think with current events unfolding as they are, it is evident that this is not the case.
That said, Reeve’s writing is thoughtful, engaging, and vital in our current climate. I hope Reeve writes a follow-up book based on her more recent investigative journalism—I’d look forward to reading it, and sharing her impressive, well-written insights.
May 30, 2025
If anyone is qualified to write a book on the “alt-right” movement, it’s unquestionably Elle Reeve. I’ve read quite a bit about incels and their “beliefs” (if that’s really what we’re calling it: I feel “delusions” is a more appropriate term). I’ve read enough about these hate groups that the book didn’t illicit the same level of discomfort and horror for me as it did for many other readers.
That’s certainly not to say that those who expressed shock and disgust by the depth of these individuals’ hatred overreacted in any way whatsoever. It’s merely acknowledging that I’ve seen so many vile and revolting comments casually thrown about online on different social media platform threads that it’s incredibly difficult to rattle me. Although if I were Elle Reeve and the subject of simultaneous obsession and hatred within these groups, then I’d definitely be shaken up.
When she speaks about them knowing her and meme’ing her, it’s not a matter of ego. If anything, she truly undermines just how awful they are to her. I suppose she also understands that given their limited (at best) and nonexistent (at worst) knowledge and interactions with women, they truly seem to believe that depicting her as pregnant with a new alt-right figurehead’s baby (this guy Tim Dally, I think… she interviewed him only 4-5 days ago; it’s up on YouTube) is a “for the l0lz” joke just for her. They also pretend in the comment section not to know her, lol. Riiight. Anyway, the implication of the cartoon is that she was majorly crushing on this idiot, and so he did her a favor and raped her, thus twice blessing her with his never-before-used penis and his progeny as well.
Yeah, that’s why I don’t get overly freaked out. It’s sick and upsetting, but it’s something you can mostly avoid, given these guys don’t have the guts to actually state these things openly to women or anyone else. I would just be sure if you do ever end up on any video or page sympathetic to their views, don’t comment - as Reeve mentions in her book, many of these guys are immature, inexperienced, and ignorant - but stupid, incapable? No. They’re extremely tech savvy and you don’t want them doxxing you. That’s when it moves from private revulsion to very public intimidation.
I certainly applaud her for tackling the history of these violent, unstable groups which advocate for violence against women and minorities, but as others have mentioned, there is a legitimate concern I have that she’s become the reporter they can talk with who will extend their extremist views to larger, more mainstream audiences.
Yes, it’s important for us to stop dismissing these extremists as “nerdy teenagers living in their mothers’ basements.” When they commit mass murder over the fact that they’re “forced to remain celibate”, it’s not something to just overlook anymore. Apparently these incels are angry due to some incredibly bizarre logic that goes something like this: for a long time, 4s could still date 4s, 2s could find other 2s, no matter how unattractive you were, you could find a member of the opposite sex who would be suited to “your standards” and vice-versa.
Now, all of the best-looking and wealthiest men “at the top of the food chain” are taking all of these women, along with the 9s and 10s, leaving no options for ugly men and dooming them to an entire lifetime of loneliness (it really is crazy how these guys have no self-awareness: that maybe, hey, it’s not your looks that are scaring women away, but the horribly sexist rhetoric you spew?!).
When they begin to leave their Internet echo chambers of racism and sexism and mass organize with a ton of “defensive” weapons in the very real world (Charlottesville, January 6th) - then yes, we do need to pay more attention to the motivations behind the violence and hate of these people, no matter how much it disturbs us. I was surprised - in a good way! - to learn that Reeve’s interviews and footage helped indict and jail many of the worst Charlottesville extremists.
As people have mentioned, there’s no question about whether she’s risking her life to get these stories. Especially not when you consider some of the settings she finds herself in to get the exclusive: Charlottesville has just wrapped up, many of the alt-right have just learned warrants have been issued for their arrests (for extremely serious charges), they’re coming off an adrenaline rush, they’re angry, freaked out by the prospect of jail, and they’re incredibly unstable. And she’s sitting in a hotel room with one of them who is wanted by the police, feels paranoid, depressed, and angry (the mood swings just keep coming), and who has a collection of loaded guns he keeps insisting on showing her. Oh, and he really hates her, too. Might want to take note of that.
Despite my admiration for her writing and her indefatigable courage, I also wondered along with other reviewers if she wasn’t focusing too much on individuals and their personal lives, inadvertently appearing as if perhaps they might be offered a sliver of sympathy for “having had it so tough.” She doesn’t explicitly state this, but simply accepting what many of them say without forcing them to supply actual evidence for their claims (one in which they state to have become disillusioned by the movement and as a result, left it behind for good) looks very much like someone who may be giving the benefit of the doubt to the people least deserving of this privilege.
I couldn’t really wrap my head around her friendship with Fred Brennan, former 4Chan moderator and creator of 8Chan, either. She extolls his “genius” a bit too much, and, I feel, gives him sympathy because of his severe physical disability. Sympathy she doesn’t offer to the rest of her subjects. Nor should she, but his disability and his intelligence don’t excuse all of the awful shit he’s done in the past. And even if he personally didn’t do all of these things, by so heavily promoting 4Chan and then 8Chan, he sure as hell opened up a whole new space for isolated, extremist individuals and allowed them to take their rage and hate to unprecedented levels. He can’t plead ignorance either, not if we’re to believe in his brilliance.
A great read overall to help us “normies” understand what the hell is going on with these groups that have now infiltrated the highest and most influential area of society: our politics. It fulfilled my desire to understand these miscreants and how they form their arguments: always an important tool to have if you ever find yourself in a situation where they’re attacking you (but let’s hope not!). I just wish she’d concentrated more on the big picture.
Also, while it might be necessary for us to become acquainted with their views to a certain extent, knowing the intricate details of their lives and how they’ve been “wronged?” That’s an entirely different story. I don’t think we need to cater to their victim narrative whatsoever. Especially as they have demonstrated that they’re more than capable of holding it up all on their own.
That’s certainly not to say that those who expressed shock and disgust by the depth of these individuals’ hatred overreacted in any way whatsoever. It’s merely acknowledging that I’ve seen so many vile and revolting comments casually thrown about online on different social media platform threads that it’s incredibly difficult to rattle me. Although if I were Elle Reeve and the subject of simultaneous obsession and hatred within these groups, then I’d definitely be shaken up.
When she speaks about them knowing her and meme’ing her, it’s not a matter of ego. If anything, she truly undermines just how awful they are to her. I suppose she also understands that given their limited (at best) and nonexistent (at worst) knowledge and interactions with women, they truly seem to believe that depicting her as pregnant with a new alt-right figurehead’s baby (this guy Tim Dally, I think… she interviewed him only 4-5 days ago; it’s up on YouTube) is a “for the l0lz” joke just for her. They also pretend in the comment section not to know her, lol. Riiight. Anyway, the implication of the cartoon is that she was majorly crushing on this idiot, and so he did her a favor and raped her, thus twice blessing her with his never-before-used penis and his progeny as well.
Yeah, that’s why I don’t get overly freaked out. It’s sick and upsetting, but it’s something you can mostly avoid, given these guys don’t have the guts to actually state these things openly to women or anyone else. I would just be sure if you do ever end up on any video or page sympathetic to their views, don’t comment - as Reeve mentions in her book, many of these guys are immature, inexperienced, and ignorant - but stupid, incapable? No. They’re extremely tech savvy and you don’t want them doxxing you. That’s when it moves from private revulsion to very public intimidation.
I certainly applaud her for tackling the history of these violent, unstable groups which advocate for violence against women and minorities, but as others have mentioned, there is a legitimate concern I have that she’s become the reporter they can talk with who will extend their extremist views to larger, more mainstream audiences.
Yes, it’s important for us to stop dismissing these extremists as “nerdy teenagers living in their mothers’ basements.” When they commit mass murder over the fact that they’re “forced to remain celibate”, it’s not something to just overlook anymore. Apparently these incels are angry due to some incredibly bizarre logic that goes something like this: for a long time, 4s could still date 4s, 2s could find other 2s, no matter how unattractive you were, you could find a member of the opposite sex who would be suited to “your standards” and vice-versa.
Now, all of the best-looking and wealthiest men “at the top of the food chain” are taking all of these women, along with the 9s and 10s, leaving no options for ugly men and dooming them to an entire lifetime of loneliness (it really is crazy how these guys have no self-awareness: that maybe, hey, it’s not your looks that are scaring women away, but the horribly sexist rhetoric you spew?!).
When they begin to leave their Internet echo chambers of racism and sexism and mass organize with a ton of “defensive” weapons in the very real world (Charlottesville, January 6th) - then yes, we do need to pay more attention to the motivations behind the violence and hate of these people, no matter how much it disturbs us. I was surprised - in a good way! - to learn that Reeve’s interviews and footage helped indict and jail many of the worst Charlottesville extremists.
As people have mentioned, there’s no question about whether she’s risking her life to get these stories. Especially not when you consider some of the settings she finds herself in to get the exclusive: Charlottesville has just wrapped up, many of the alt-right have just learned warrants have been issued for their arrests (for extremely serious charges), they’re coming off an adrenaline rush, they’re angry, freaked out by the prospect of jail, and they’re incredibly unstable. And she’s sitting in a hotel room with one of them who is wanted by the police, feels paranoid, depressed, and angry (the mood swings just keep coming), and who has a collection of loaded guns he keeps insisting on showing her. Oh, and he really hates her, too. Might want to take note of that.
Despite my admiration for her writing and her indefatigable courage, I also wondered along with other reviewers if she wasn’t focusing too much on individuals and their personal lives, inadvertently appearing as if perhaps they might be offered a sliver of sympathy for “having had it so tough.” She doesn’t explicitly state this, but simply accepting what many of them say without forcing them to supply actual evidence for their claims (one in which they state to have become disillusioned by the movement and as a result, left it behind for good) looks very much like someone who may be giving the benefit of the doubt to the people least deserving of this privilege.
I couldn’t really wrap my head around her friendship with Fred Brennan, former 4Chan moderator and creator of 8Chan, either. She extolls his “genius” a bit too much, and, I feel, gives him sympathy because of his severe physical disability. Sympathy she doesn’t offer to the rest of her subjects. Nor should she, but his disability and his intelligence don’t excuse all of the awful shit he’s done in the past. And even if he personally didn’t do all of these things, by so heavily promoting 4Chan and then 8Chan, he sure as hell opened up a whole new space for isolated, extremist individuals and allowed them to take their rage and hate to unprecedented levels. He can’t plead ignorance either, not if we’re to believe in his brilliance.
A great read overall to help us “normies” understand what the hell is going on with these groups that have now infiltrated the highest and most influential area of society: our politics. It fulfilled my desire to understand these miscreants and how they form their arguments: always an important tool to have if you ever find yourself in a situation where they’re attacking you (but let’s hope not!). I just wish she’d concentrated more on the big picture.
Also, while it might be necessary for us to become acquainted with their views to a certain extent, knowing the intricate details of their lives and how they’ve been “wronged?” That’s an entirely different story. I don’t think we need to cater to their victim narrative whatsoever. Especially as they have demonstrated that they’re more than capable of holding it up all on their own.
December 29, 2024
In Black Pill, journalist Elle Reeve recounts stories from her time studying the alt-right and going deep into the darkest, scariest corners of the internet - the places that spurred the January 6th insurrection, the Unite the Right rally, Gamergate, and the like.
Reeve has met and formed deep relationships with many major figures in the alt-right, from Fred Brennan (founder of 8chan), Matthew Heimbach and Matt Parrott (founders of the Traditionalist Workers Party), famed racist Christopher Cantwell, scary white nationalist Richard Spencer, and his wife/Russian apologist Nina Kouprianova. I applaud Reeve for being able to stomach interviewing these self-proclaimed racists, white supremacists, eugenicists, and worse. But I wish the book was something more than a collection of interviews anthropologizing these horrible people and the true cesspool of an internet-turned-real-life subculture they’ve spawned.
In some ways, I feel like the book actually glosses over or minimizes the impacts that the hateful puppet masters discussed at length in this book have had on our country, collective political identity, safety, and democracy. I don’t think that was intentional, but it’s easy to do when you’re focused on telling the stories of the individuals who Reeve came to know rather than analyzing the cultural impact of their work. I’m not sure if her point was to humanize them or to try to understand more deeply how they became radicalized, but I’m not sure she succeeded in either.
I loved Talia Lavin’s 2020 work Culture Warlords and felt that it did a perfect job of what I was hoping for here - an in depth analysis of the alt-right’s disgusting internet presence from someone who successfully infiltrated the front lines.
Reeve has met and formed deep relationships with many major figures in the alt-right, from Fred Brennan (founder of 8chan), Matthew Heimbach and Matt Parrott (founders of the Traditionalist Workers Party), famed racist Christopher Cantwell, scary white nationalist Richard Spencer, and his wife/Russian apologist Nina Kouprianova. I applaud Reeve for being able to stomach interviewing these self-proclaimed racists, white supremacists, eugenicists, and worse. But I wish the book was something more than a collection of interviews anthropologizing these horrible people and the true cesspool of an internet-turned-real-life subculture they’ve spawned.
In some ways, I feel like the book actually glosses over or minimizes the impacts that the hateful puppet masters discussed at length in this book have had on our country, collective political identity, safety, and democracy. I don’t think that was intentional, but it’s easy to do when you’re focused on telling the stories of the individuals who Reeve came to know rather than analyzing the cultural impact of their work. I’m not sure if her point was to humanize them or to try to understand more deeply how they became radicalized, but I’m not sure she succeeded in either.
I loved Talia Lavin’s 2020 work Culture Warlords and felt that it did a perfect job of what I was hoping for here - an in depth analysis of the alt-right’s disgusting internet presence from someone who successfully infiltrated the front lines.
December 16, 2024
The author spent far too much time on the argument “these people are the way they are because they’re autistic”. Terrible analysis of how autism can impact people. As another reviewer mentioned, I also don’t super care to know more about the personal lives of fascists. The history of how the online movement/community evolved was interesting as a concept, but I think the author went into far too much detail on personal lives (perhaps in an attempt to humanize, but it comes across as “oh no these poor men have bad marriages and have been fetishized :( it makes sense they’re like this”).
January 23, 2025
Listening to this over the last few days made me feel less crazy. These men are out there, they’re being empowered by the executive, judicial, and congressional branches of our government now, and it is our moral obligation to obstruct them by any means necessary.
November 18, 2024
“The internet had once been an escape from the real world, but now the real world cannot get relief from it.”
This book was disturbing yet extremely well written. I was unfamiliar about the internet culture that shaped these movements, and it was frightening to hear the interviews and audios of some of these people who were forerunners, especially with Charlottesville and January 6th. However, I believe everyone should read this book so they can educate themselves about how the internet encourages negative and harmful group think and understand what they might do to be advocates for their neighbors around them.
This book was disturbing yet extremely well written. I was unfamiliar about the internet culture that shaped these movements, and it was frightening to hear the interviews and audios of some of these people who were forerunners, especially with Charlottesville and January 6th. However, I believe everyone should read this book so they can educate themselves about how the internet encourages negative and harmful group think and understand what they might do to be advocates for their neighbors around them.
October 23, 2024
Jest to książka pełna wspaniałych opowieści. Na przykład tej, jak neonazistowska Tradycjonalistyczna Partia Robotnicza rozpadła się niczym skrzynka, na której stał rzecznik prasowy partii, filmując przez okno przyczepy szefa partii uprawiającego pozamałżeński seks z żoną rzecznika i zdradzającego tym samym pasierbicę rzecznika, która była jego żoną (skrzynka się naprawdę rozpadła, zrobił się hałas i panowie zaczęli się bić). Ta historia, w nawiązaniu do angielskiego tłumaczenia Nocy Długich Noży, była znana wśród faszystów jako Night of the Wrong Wives.
Jest dużo historii. Bo autorka tak długo relacjonowała działania faszystów i neonazistów, tak długo za nimi łaziła, aż ci się do niej jakoś tak przyzwyczaili. Dzięki czemu mogła wysłuchać żalów naziola ze starej gwardii, jednego z najważniejszych skinów w USA, że nie rozumie tych nowych ludzi w Ruchu, tych od żaby Pepe i żartów o gwałtach. Dla tego gościa, z blizną od łomu na głowie i faszystowskimi tatuażami alt-right to było "za dużo". Na tyle, że wyszedł ze środowiska i dziś współpracuje z Centrum Simona Wiesenthala. OK, nie tylko dlatego.
Z kolei ten gość, co go filmował rzecznik, stojąc na skrzynce, jak zdradza córkę z matką, też już nie pajacuje i porzucił dawne życie. Nie jest mu łatwo, bo w Stanach jak pracodawca dowie się, że jego pracownik to dawna duża postać w Ruchu, zazwyczaj wypowiada umowę o pracę. A zazwyczaj się dowiadują. Randkowanie też idzie ciężko. "Wiesz jak bardzo nie sexy jest mówić komuś: 'Dobrze by było, żebyś przed drugą randką przeczytała mój biogram na Wikipedii'?"...
I taka to jest książka. Autorka jest prawdziwą dziennikarką, reporterką, nie napisała tego z domu, guglając skrajną prawicę. Pracowała w Vice News i później w CNN, dokumentowała wydarzenia w Charlottesville – spora część książki jest właśnie o tym. Do dziś jej feed na Twitterze jest regularnie nawiedzany przez nazistowskie trolle z całymi folderkami memów, których jest główną bohaterką.
Mam tak ostatnio, że czytam kilka książek naraz. Wcześniej tak nie robiłem, ale zauważyłem, że ugrzęźnięcie w jakiejś cegle zmniejsza moją generalną chęć do czytania. Teraz dzięki tej zmianie czytam dużo więcej. Ale dla "Black Pill" odłożyłem wszystkie inne lektury.
Jest dużo historii. Bo autorka tak długo relacjonowała działania faszystów i neonazistów, tak długo za nimi łaziła, aż ci się do niej jakoś tak przyzwyczaili. Dzięki czemu mogła wysłuchać żalów naziola ze starej gwardii, jednego z najważniejszych skinów w USA, że nie rozumie tych nowych ludzi w Ruchu, tych od żaby Pepe i żartów o gwałtach. Dla tego gościa, z blizną od łomu na głowie i faszystowskimi tatuażami alt-right to było "za dużo". Na tyle, że wyszedł ze środowiska i dziś współpracuje z Centrum Simona Wiesenthala. OK, nie tylko dlatego.
Z kolei ten gość, co go filmował rzecznik, stojąc na skrzynce, jak zdradza córkę z matką, też już nie pajacuje i porzucił dawne życie. Nie jest mu łatwo, bo w Stanach jak pracodawca dowie się, że jego pracownik to dawna duża postać w Ruchu, zazwyczaj wypowiada umowę o pracę. A zazwyczaj się dowiadują. Randkowanie też idzie ciężko. "Wiesz jak bardzo nie sexy jest mówić komuś: 'Dobrze by było, żebyś przed drugą randką przeczytała mój biogram na Wikipedii'?"...
I taka to jest książka. Autorka jest prawdziwą dziennikarką, reporterką, nie napisała tego z domu, guglając skrajną prawicę. Pracowała w Vice News i później w CNN, dokumentowała wydarzenia w Charlottesville – spora część książki jest właśnie o tym. Do dziś jej feed na Twitterze jest regularnie nawiedzany przez nazistowskie trolle z całymi folderkami memów, których jest główną bohaterką.
Mam tak ostatnio, że czytam kilka książek naraz. Wcześniej tak nie robiłem, ale zauważyłem, że ugrzęźnięcie w jakiejś cegle zmniejsza moją generalną chęć do czytania. Teraz dzięki tej zmianie czytam dużo więcej. Ale dla "Black Pill" odłożyłem wszystkie inne lektury.
Read
September 30, 2024Really recommend.
June 15, 2025
Fantastic book. In our current political climate it’s important to learn about how & why people believe what they believe rather than ignoring movements that are actively happening because they make us uncomfortable. The discomfort shows we’re on the correct side of history & I don’t consider this book to be amplifying problematic people — it’s documenting history that would otherwise go under or inaccurately reported. The author is a journalist who bravely dedicated years to reporting on the alt right. P.s. As a Hoosier I’m sadly not surprised that a guy from Indiana is mentioned right away.
October 20, 2024
If you want the world to be better, go out and be a part of making history, the history you want to see. Thanks Dad, for teaching me to stand up for what is right. Thanks Mom, for teaching me the value of making a dossier in middle school and to not fear confrontation.
The entire country is now being black pilled, with crazy lies and qanon propaganda, and we must recover our democracy from the damage.
As a fan of technology and someone who worked in social media, I'm sad about the proof provided of the damage Facebook contributed 2013-16, as the alt right built an audience and networked. Could have been any group, but this important book documents in great detail how some of the worst people did it.
Appreciate this very special front row seat at Charlottesville and Portland, and understand better what America 🇺🇸 is facing.
Reeve provides very few excuses, but does restore humanity and rationality to some of the worst villians of the decade. Putin hit a gold mine in 2016, and this book documents the rotting ground available to him, and how Trump spoke to it so effectively.
The entire country is now being black pilled, with crazy lies and qanon propaganda, and we must recover our democracy from the damage.
As a fan of technology and someone who worked in social media, I'm sad about the proof provided of the damage Facebook contributed 2013-16, as the alt right built an audience and networked. Could have been any group, but this important book documents in great detail how some of the worst people did it.
Appreciate this very special front row seat at Charlottesville and Portland, and understand better what America 🇺🇸 is facing.
Reeve provides very few excuses, but does restore humanity and rationality to some of the worst villians of the decade. Putin hit a gold mine in 2016, and this book documents the rotting ground available to him, and how Trump spoke to it so effectively.
March 5, 2025
“America is not exceptional. The rules of history apply to us. If you have great amounts of inequality, and you have no change available within the system, the system won’t survive." - Fred Brennan
A well documented account from someone who was there, the author gives us an up close and personal look at the key figures in the alt-right movement and sheds light on how it went from the world of the internet into the real world, and how it seeped into our lives and our politics. Yes it is a disturbing book, but to be perfectly honest our country has become a disturbing place, if someone is paying attention that is.
It is hard to argue with Ms.Reeve's observation: "Even in their blackpilled rage, the people I’ve reported on saw an opening in the fabric of history, and they dove into it to make the world they wanted. If you want to live in a very different world than they do, you have to throw yourself into history to stop them."
Being familiar with the movie "The Matrix" is helpful when reading this book. 💊💊☺
A well documented account from someone who was there, the author gives us an up close and personal look at the key figures in the alt-right movement and sheds light on how it went from the world of the internet into the real world, and how it seeped into our lives and our politics. Yes it is a disturbing book, but to be perfectly honest our country has become a disturbing place, if someone is paying attention that is.
It is hard to argue with Ms.Reeve's observation: "Even in their blackpilled rage, the people I’ve reported on saw an opening in the fabric of history, and they dove into it to make the world they wanted. If you want to live in a very different world than they do, you have to throw yourself into history to stop them."
Being familiar with the movie "The Matrix" is helpful when reading this book. 💊💊☺
August 13, 2024
A difficult and distressing topic presented with a lot of guts. I was really surprised by how personally the subjects are described and how close the author was able to get to the action during moments like Charlottesville and January sixth. Not a lot of solutions offered, but I admire the frank realism the author tends to lead with. It was honestly really interesting and one of those weird times when you don’t want to put a book down, but also want to wash your hands every time you touch it.
May 30, 2025
DNF because I expected journalism and this reads like gossip. I get it’s a memoir but, given Reeve worked for CNN, I assumed a certain level of objectivity; that is absent from this. I’m also frustrated by the lack of explanation about the players, as though I should know who everyone is already.
2024
October 7, 2025Non-fiction November TBR
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books
May 22, 2025
Black Pill by Elle Reeve is one of those books that made me deeply uncomfortable in the best possible way. It left me with the kind of discomfort that demands your attention rather than letting you look away. This is like hanging out in a bunker while someone calmly explains how the internet radicalizes lonely, angry people into embracing misogyny, racism, and nihilism. Reeve dives headfirst into incel forums, Gamergate history, and the unmoderated cesspools of chan culture, and somehow manages to do it without sensationalizing the worst of it or dismissing the people involved as cartoon villains.
She listens instead of shouting, and what she finds is often terrifying (not just because of what’s being said) but because she shows how normal it all feels from the inside of those spaces. The “black pill” isn’t just a catchy title; it’s a cultural ideology built on despair, where the belief that the world is broken leads people to stop trying to fix it and instead lean into destruction. Somehow, Reeve shows how that logic unfolds, step by horrifying step, from memes to meaninglessness to hate.
What really struck me is how much sadness, insecurity, and isolation is at the root of all this. Beneath the cruelty is a desperate desire to feel seen and an algorithm whispering, “Yes, you’re right, the world really is against you.” This book could have easily been a dry, academic analysis or a preachy moral panic. Instead, Reeve delivers investigative journalism with empathy, clarity, and just enough edge to keep you turning the pages with your jaw slightly unhinged.
She doesn’t excuse or apologize for the communities she profiles, but she does give them dimension and understanding the problem is step one in fighting it. I’ve read a lot of internet culture reporting, and this one stands out for its humanity, its insight, and its refusal to make easy generalizations.
It’s not a fun read, but it’s a necessary one. I gave it 4.5 stars, not because it’s easy or comforting, but because it’s honest, brave, and relentlessly important.
She listens instead of shouting, and what she finds is often terrifying (not just because of what’s being said) but because she shows how normal it all feels from the inside of those spaces. The “black pill” isn’t just a catchy title; it’s a cultural ideology built on despair, where the belief that the world is broken leads people to stop trying to fix it and instead lean into destruction. Somehow, Reeve shows how that logic unfolds, step by horrifying step, from memes to meaninglessness to hate.
What really struck me is how much sadness, insecurity, and isolation is at the root of all this. Beneath the cruelty is a desperate desire to feel seen and an algorithm whispering, “Yes, you’re right, the world really is against you.” This book could have easily been a dry, academic analysis or a preachy moral panic. Instead, Reeve delivers investigative journalism with empathy, clarity, and just enough edge to keep you turning the pages with your jaw slightly unhinged.
She doesn’t excuse or apologize for the communities she profiles, but she does give them dimension and understanding the problem is step one in fighting it. I’ve read a lot of internet culture reporting, and this one stands out for its humanity, its insight, and its refusal to make easy generalizations.
It’s not a fun read, but it’s a necessary one. I gave it 4.5 stars, not because it’s easy or comforting, but because it’s honest, brave, and relentlessly important.
October 22, 2025
Elle Reeve has written this book about various far-right movements online that have entered the real world in various forms and fashions. She has not written a dispassionate or objective look at the major figures involved in the movement, nor does she structure it as a didactic read -- although she does throw in paragraphs to educate the "normies" like me about far-right slang (counter-signaling, normies, etc.).
Instead she writes more of a character study of various figures in these far-right movements (incels, alt-right, nazis, etc.), their impact on said movements, their impact in the real world, and what happened to them as a result. She is a strong writer, writing the book in a first person narration -- which functionally reads like a documentary narration (and in fact, works quite well on audiobook as she has the TV journalist voice down pat -- because she is one). I didn't really know what to expect when I started the book, but I do know that I could not put it down when I started. She wrote a strong narration of some of the worst people ever.
I only mark the book down a bit because some of her quotations and prose can be confusing at times, leaving me to wonder who she is quoting.
4.5 stars
Instead she writes more of a character study of various figures in these far-right movements (incels, alt-right, nazis, etc.), their impact on said movements, their impact in the real world, and what happened to them as a result. She is a strong writer, writing the book in a first person narration -- which functionally reads like a documentary narration (and in fact, works quite well on audiobook as she has the TV journalist voice down pat -- because she is one). I didn't really know what to expect when I started the book, but I do know that I could not put it down when I started. She wrote a strong narration of some of the worst people ever.
I only mark the book down a bit because some of her quotations and prose can be confusing at times, leaving me to wonder who she is quoting.
4.5 stars
March 4, 2025
Required reading for anyone that has stake in the future of America
September 13, 2024
An important dossier of the emergence of the alt-right and the normalisation of everything awful that has happened since 2013. Gamergate really was a tipping point
September 22, 2025
Though I did enjoy listening to this audiobook, I wanted more from Reeve. The investigative journalism here just barely scratches the surface of a deeply disturbing and complex issue that we are seeing the worsening effects of in real time. There wasn’t a ton of information throughout that I felt as if I hadn’t already learned from other books or even just existing online. Reeve also goes into quite extensive efforts to relate people with autism to extremists and I’m not entirely sure how I felt about that..
January 19, 2025
My skin is crawling after reading this and I feel the immense urge to wash off some of the words in this brilliant but disturbing piece of journalism. Not the words of the author, but what was being said, believed, lived, breathed by these incels, bigots, haters, QAnons, alt-right, 8chan, 4chan, racists, sexists, Nazis etc etc etc
I had to step away from the words of this book rather often and followed Elle's rule: don't get yelled at by Nazis after 8 p.m. I can only take so much hate in smaller doses or I'll grow mad.
I had to step away from the words of this book rather often and followed Elle's rule: don't get yelled at by Nazis after 8 p.m. I can only take so much hate in smaller doses or I'll grow mad.
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