I'm a little curious as to why this is even an article. It's inevitable and has no bearing on 99.99999% of people.
I get that it's low hanging fruit from a reporting / research perspective (sort of like the 'Twitter users blah blah blah' articles), but outside of the 'publish or die' mindset of churning out content this is pointless and continues to make 4-chan and these people seem much more relevant than they are.
I dunno about that. 4chan memes and attitudes have diffused out into wider US politics.
Not that I disagree with the jist of it. "Oh no, internet dwellers are posting something horrible... I am shocked!"
Keyword _have_. 4chan hasn't been culturally relevant for like a decade.
[1] (Not that I have of course any means to do that ... but I can drop out I suppose.)
I have a lot of respect for Drew, but I can't take absolutist opinions like this seriously from someone who reputedly blocks people over any minor disagreement or perceived sleight.
Regardless, "No Nazis" is a great policy until someone decides they don't like you and labels you as one. The most prevailing anti-Ukraine sentiment is based on the claim that they are Nazis.
There is an interview between Mike Wallace and the Chinese leader in the 90s where Wallace asks the leader why they censor the internet. He specifically says, "don't you think your people are smart enough to make up their own minds and come to their own conclusions?" So it goes, now the entire world is treated the same way.
The internet was always a dumpster fire. 4chan is old, toxic forums are even older. That is part of the package.
What made it cool was the freeness and gems, and the little adequately moderated niche communities. I would argue the bigger problem is that the internet became siloed, bland, soullessly moderated by corporations who don't care, and excessively spammy.
Lest we forget that a favorite pastime during the aughts was tricking your friends or strangers into visiting vile "shock" websites.
Do you have evidence for your claim that ignoring casual hate caused either of those things? My baseless theory is that suppressing and excluding these people from the mainstream is what riled them up in the first place; it certainly didn't feel like they were being ignored even after that. But I am open to contradicting evidence.