These pundits are community leaders of a sort—they validate feelings and provide guidance. Internet Inquisitors position themselves as authority figures and truth tellers; they confirm the mob’s hatred, paranoia, and insecurities and direct it toward the nearest combustible witch on their radar. They serve as morale boosters, assuring the mob that they are correct, that their path is righteous, and that it’s the world that’s wrong (or in this case, the person they’re offering up as a sacrifice). Without leadership, a ragtag group of people who make being an asshole their hobby will usually
...more
