  The media frequently describes the 2017 Charlottesville 'Unite the Right'
rally as a turning point for the alt-right and white supremacist movements.
Social movement theory suggests that the media attention and public discourse
concerning the rally may have influenced the alt-right, but this has yet to be
empirically tested. The current study investigates whether there are
differences in language use between 7,142 alt-right and progressive YouTube
channels, in addition to measuring possible changes as a result of the rally.
To do so, we create structural topic models and measure bigram proportions in
video transcripts, spanning eight weeks before to eight weeks after the rally.
We observe differences in topics between the two groups, with the 'alternative
influencers' for example discussing topics related to race and free speech to
an increasing and larger extent than progressive channels. We also observe
structural breakpoints in the use of bigrams at the time of the rally,
suggesting there are changes in language use within the two groups as a result
of the rally. While most changes relate to mentions of the rally itself, the
alternative group also shows an increase in promotion of their YouTube
channels. Results are discussed in light of social movement theory, followed by
a discussion of potential implications for understanding the alt-right and
their language use on YouTube.
