By now I’m sure we’ve all heard Hillary Clinton’s much talked about speech on the so-called “alt-right” political movement. White separatists, pointy sheets, conspiracy theorists, radio shows, bloggers, internet trolls, Donald Trump, and even Vladimir Putin were implicated as key players in the vast and loosely organized group said to be targeting Hillary Clinton because of her gender. Following the speech, mainstream media was quick to label the alt-right as a white supremacist movement bent on turning America into a modern version of Apartheid era South Africa. Their definition of the alt-right couldn’t be further from the truth. The best definition of the alt-right is “a segment of ideologies presented as an alternative to traditional American conservatism.” By its very definition the alt-right is just what its name suggests, an alternative. Although silly and sometimes offensive memes on 4chan and Facebook have been presented by the mainstream media as the face of the alt-right, at its core, the alt-right is a movement of citizens asking questions. Questioning the political establishment, questioning mainstream media, and using the latest mediums to both communicate with one another and broadcast their point of view. In the world of the alt-right, talk radio, live internet broadcasts, and blogs have taken the place of newspapers and the television set. Since its earliest days, the alt-right has emerged as a movement on the cutting edge of American politics.

When I think about the origins of the alt-right, two men come to mind. Matt Drudge and Andrew Breitbart. In 1998, the earliest days of online media, a little website named The Drudge Report became famous. With the help of his editor, Andrew Breitbart, Matt Drudge exposed one of the biggest scandals in the history of the Presidency of the United States, Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky. In a case of classic dinosaur media censorship, reporter Michael Isikoff had his story on Clinton’s affair scrapped by Newsweek. The American people had a right to know that their President was sleeping with an intern, and Matt Drudge, using the newest medium available, presented the story to the American people. Despite their best efforts, the dinosour media couldn’t stifle the truth. Matt Drudge had presented the people with an alternative, the internet. The Drudge Report has gone on to become one of the most highly trafficked news sites in the world. In July 2016, The Drudge Report received 1.47 billion views, more than the entire Disney Network.

Andrew Breitbart, former editor of The Drudge Report, founded Breitbart News in 2007 and made it his mission to bring down mainstream media and the corrupt political establishment. Making a name for himself through the now infamous ACORN and Shirley Sherrod videos, he reached alt-right legend status when he exposed Anthony Weiner’s (Huma Abedin’s husband who was recently busted sexting beside his young son) sexting scandal in 2011. Although Breitbart died in 2012 at just 43 years of age, his network of websites lives on and has now taken the form of a daily radio show, Breitbart News Daily, which is almost entirely made up of listeners calling in and choosing the talking points, has terrified the establishment on both the left and right for the past year. Breitbart’s Executive Chairman, Stephen K. Bannon, is currently serving as the CEO of Donald J Trump’s 2016 campaign, a move that has pushed the Breitbart name even further into the spotlight as a key piece in the alt-right puzzle.

From the deepest corners of the 1990’s internet, to the polling booths of the Brexit vote, and around to the 2016 election, the alt-right has been in the face of the establishment. Far from the visions of conspiring fascists and white separatists that play over and over in Hillary Clinton’s head, the alt-right is supported by everyday people who feel left behind by a distant government, alienated in their own parties, and demonized by mainstream media. This movement is growing by the day and is sure to have an impact on future elections.