WASHINGTON, D.C. — Bad news for internet bros: the FBI is concerned your humor might warrant investigation.
New documents released by The Daily Signal reveal a list of terms the Bureau thinks might help identify violent extremists.
Many of the seemingly benign terms are very commonly used online, including “based,” “red pill,” “blue pill,” “normie,” “LARPing” (short for Live Action Role Playing), “Chad” and “Stacy.”
The documents were obtained via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted by The Heritage Foundation. They showed two lists of key terms that online investigators could use to identify potentially violent extremists who are either “involuntary celibate” (abbreviated as incel) or “racially or ethnically motivated.”
NEW: Docs we obtained show how @FBI equates protected online speech to violence.
— Oversight Project (@OversightPR) April 3, 2023
According to @FBI using the terms “based” or “red pilled” are signs of "Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremism" pic.twitter.com/JSQiCoiKdT
FBI: NOT “BASED”
The FBI states that racially motivated violent extremists may use the term “based” to indicate “ideological agreement.” These individuals may also use the term LARPing to “deride individuals accused of not being as extreme.”
Urban Dictionary – an online site that defines slang terminology – refers to “based” as: “A word used when you agree with something; or when you want to recognize someone for being themselves, i.e. courageous and unique or not caring what others think.”
“CHAD,” “STACY” AND “NORMIES”
According to the FBI, incels – men who wish to have sex with women but are for various reasons unable to do so – pose a threat of violence due to their frustration with a society they blame for their abstinence.
These incels refer to the idealized man as “Chad” and the idealized woman as “Stacy,” according to the documents.
The terms “red pill” and “blue pill” were popularized in the early 2000’s by the Hollywood movie The Matrix. The term “red pill” identifies people who are aware of certain important realities in the world. Conversely, “blue pill” refers to “normies” who are oblivious or in denial of such realities.
