Irony poisoning is a term to describe when someone starts out believing something

ironically Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into d ...

, but later starts to actually believe it. It is often used when referring to normalising extremist views through the use of humour, particularly online, but it's not exclusive to it.

Use

The term is more frequently used by younger people and first appeared in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' in 2018.

Notable examples

'' used the term to describe the chain of events that led up to German man

Dirk Denkhaus A dirk is a long bladed thrusting dagger.Chisholm, Hugh (ed.), ''Dagger'', The Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol. VII, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press (1910), p. 729 Historically, it gained its name from the Highland Dirk (Scot ...

trying to set fire to a house homing refugees after exchanging racist memes and Nazi greetings online. In 2022, the

Canadian Anti-Hate Network The Canadian Anti-Hate Network (CAHN) is a Canadian nonprofit organization that monitors hate groups, far-right groups, and hate crimes in Canada. It was formed in 2018 in Toronto, Ontario and receives funding from the Government of Canada. CAHN ...

have accused

Diagolon Diagolon is a Canadian alt-right organization which was considered significant to the Canada convoy protest by the Government of Canada. It is led by Jeremy MacKenzie (activist), Jeremy MacKenzie. Organisation and aims Diagolon is a right wi ...

of using irony poisoning to desensitise hateful rhetoric through the use of online jokes and memes.

References

{{Authority control Far-right politics English words and phrases Political theories Humor research