Paradoxically, to be a weaponized autist is to be simultaneously devalued. Alongside the expressions of admiration and affection are incongruous sentiments of degradation. While useful and talented, weaponized autists are seen as “strange” and incapable of many “normal” tasks such as maintaining hygiene, relationships, and employment. They are presumed to spend time engaged in “useless” activities (such as online gaming) and to occasionally engage in “unusual” behaviour, such as making screeching “Reee” sounds.

Schroeder, J. (2019). A Warning to Moms of White Teen Boys. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/12/opinion/sunday/white-supremacist-recruitment.html May R, Feldman M. Understanding the alt-right. Ideologues,‘Lulz’and hiding in plain sight. In: Fielitz M, editor. Post-Digital Cultures of the Far Right. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag; 2018. pp. 25–36. [ Google Scholar] Forscher PS, Kteily NS. A psychological profile of the alt-right. Perspectives on Psychological Science. 2020; 15(1):90–116. doi: 10.1177/1745691619868208. [ PMC free article] [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Greene VS. “Deplorable” satire: Alt-right memes, white genocide tweets, and redpilling normies. Studies in American Humor. 2019; 5(1):31–69. doi: 10.5325/studamerhumor.5.1.0031. [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Each of these posts collapse autism with both social ineptitude and technical competencies. Interestingly, the reference to the risk of being on their “bad side” enables the weaponization: it is this implied potential for retaliation along with technical skills that makes autistic people useful to the movement.My god, if #CrookedHillary really wants to control the people and stop #Trump, she need to stop worrying about guns and ban weaponized autism ASAP. Their autism know no bounds. #MAGA These posts suggest that “meme battles” are central to their tactics, and the greatest warriors are thus autistic people. Weaponized autism, then, is also considered to be something uniquely owned by the far right. It is claimed as something that has been and will be helpful in advancing their agenda, which is sometimes overtly linked to promoting favoured political figures and defeating their political enemies. Gillespie-Lynch K, Kapp SK, Shane-Simpson C, Smith DS, Hutman T. Intersections between the autism spectrum and the Internet: perceived benefits and preferred functions of computer-mediated communication. Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities. 2014; 52(6):456–469. doi: 10.1352/1934-9556-52.6.456. [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar]

We cherish our autism for we have weaponized it and made of it a terrifying sword with which to harrow our enemies Borrell, B. (2020). Radical online communities and their toxic allure for autistic men. Retrieved from https://www.spectrumnews.org/features/deep-dive/radical-online-communities-and-their-toxic-allure-for-autistic-men The Gab definition of weaponized autism is rooted in an esoteric understanding of autism itself. When Gab posters speak of autistic people, they are not necessarily referring to someone who has been diagnosed as autistic or meets the diagnostic criteria if assessed. Rather, they are applying a stereotype of autism, which is largely of their own making, but has roots in medical and media representations of autism. Their autism archetype is a person with hyper-focus, social awkwardness, ‘savant’ or very narrow intelligence, a specific or specialized talent, and is usually single (probably a virgin) and “NEET” (not in education, employment, or training).While weaponized autism is often discussed in terms of direct political advancement, it is also discussed as a tool for general mischief making and “entertainment.”“Shitposting” and other forms of online pranking that capitalize on diligent detail-oriented research (such as identifying people of interest) are among the LULZ strategies and other tactics discussed earlier, which are employed to simultaneously demonstrate the group’s power and distract from their most nefarious work and intentions. What values and assumptions held by Gab posters are underlying the term “weaponized autism” and how it is used? Perry B, Olsson P. Cyberhate: the globalization of hate. Information & Communications Technology Law. 2009; 18(2):185–199. doi: 10.1080/13600830902814984. [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Kennedy B, Atari M, Davani AM, Yeh L, Omrani A, Kim Y, Gonzalez E. The Gab Hate Corpus: A collection of 27k posts annotated for hate speech. PsyArXiv. 2018 doi: 10.31234/osf.io/hqjxn. [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar]

Pearson, A., Rees, J., & Forster, S. (2022). “This was just how this friendship worked”: Experiences of Interpersonal Victimisation in Autistic Adults. Autism in Adulthood. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2021.0035 [ PMC free article] [ PubMed] Tuters M. LARPing & liberal tears. Irony, belief and idiocy in the deep vernacular web. In: Fielitz M, editor. Post-Digital Cultures of the Far Right. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag; 2018. pp. 37–48. [ Google Scholar] Dekker M. Autistic Community and the Neurodiversity Movement. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan; 2020. From exclusion to acceptance: independent living on the Autistic Spectrum; pp. 41–49. [ Google Scholar] Sofronoff K, Dark E, Stone V. Social vulnerability and bullying in children with Asperger syndrome. Autism. 2011; 15(3):355–372. doi: 10.1177/1362361310365070. [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Braune, J. (2020). 14 August 2020). Countering Conspiracy Theories and Youth Recruitment; Self-Care. Retrieved from https://joanbraune.com/2020/08/14/countering-conspiracy-theories-and-youth-recruitment-self-careAutists can be the most fanatical people you can find. We need “Waffen-Autismus” aka Weaponized Autism. Give those people a cause and something their skills are useful for and watch things get awesome. *NOTE “Waffen” is the German word for “weapons” and is also employed in the name of “Atomwaffen Division,” a defunct neo-Nazi network. The side effects of weaponized autism were still not fully understood in 2017, much like the side effects of nuclear weapons in 1945