An important difference from the comparison to the Maoist movement and the like (besides degree), is that historically these spirals had at their heart, at least at the beginning, a premeditated ploy for power. The posturing was conscious and malicious.

It's really important to point out that that's not usually the case with the internet version. People aren't setting out to build an instagram moral empire; in fact they may set out with genuine, legitimate concern for the real moral issues. The problem comes from that "ratchet effect", where the only way to stay safe is to keep escalating things. The internet abstracts away people's humanity, dampening any compassion/charity, and the temperature rises on its own. Seeing this lack of (original) malice makes it easier to forgive and to step outside of the cycle.