Irony poisoning is the process or altered state wherein one has a diminished capacity for distinguishing between one's own genuine beliefs and ironic beliefs through an overuse of irony. This can manifest in either an inability to state one's beliefs in a genuine way or genuinely echoing provocative sentiments they once held only ironically. [1] Appearing in The New York Times in 2018, the term is often used to describe the normalization of extremist views through the use of humor, particularly in online spaces. [1] [2] [3]
The New York Times used the term to describe the chain of events that led up to the attempt of German man Dirk Denkhaus to set fire to a house sheltering refugees after exchanging racist memes and Nazi greetings online. [4] [1] In 2022, the Canadian Anti-Hate Network accused Diagolon of using irony poisoning to desensitize users to hateful rhetoric through the use of online jokes and memes. [5]
But for some, the jokey memes became a bridge to a formal association with white nationalism. In other words, when users post so many genocide and rape jokes, they become so detached from reality that they become susceptible to the messages of bonafide hate groups, a transformation referred to in forums as "irony poisoning."