Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics

Written by Elle Reeve

Narrated by Elle Reeve

This tour de force of investigative journalism—in the vein of The Next Civil War and Why We’re Polarized—reveals how the battle between the right and left is spilling out from the darkest corners of the internet into the real world with often tragic consequences.

Award-winning journalist and CNN correspondent Elle Reeve was not surprised by the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. With years of in-depth research and on-the-ground investigative reporting under her belt, Reeve was aware of the preoccupations of the online far right and their journey from the computer to QAnon, militias, and racist groups.

At the same time, Reeve saw a parallel growth of counterforces, with citizen vigilantes using new tools and tactics to take down the far right. This ongoing battle, long fought mainly on the internet, had arrived in the real world with greater and greater frequency.

With a sharp eye for detail and a dash of dark humor, Reeve explains the origins of this shocking sweep of political violence. Drawing on countless interviews with sources in the white nationalist movement as well as hundreds of as-yet-unseen documents, she takes us on a surreal journey from the darkest corners of the internet to the most significant and chilling scenes of real-world political violence in generations. A stranger-than-fiction odyssey into the dark heart of what American politics has become, Black Pill is necessary reading for any supporter of democracy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Jul 9, 2024
• ISBN: 9781797175485

Elle Reeve

Elle Reeve is a CNN correspondent whose work has won numerous awards, including the Emmy, the Peabody, and more. Her writing has appeared in VICE, The New Republic, New York magazine, Elle, The Atlantic, and The Daily Beast. She lives in New York. You can follow her on Twitter @ElspethReeve.  

Reviews for Black Pill

[joannehamilton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Outstanding. This author is the kind of reporter and author I wish that I might have been.

I do not know which pieces I saw from her at first back in the day but I do remember thinking, huh, that’s a little crazy. I almost strayed into, ya, maybe being a bit of the story but shook _my head and thought, BS, that kid is getting it done. Bravo. Bravo.
Take care

[Joshua Trusso · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very well written and preformed audiobook. I’m a bit of an information junky and recognized a lot of the characters in this book from hyper focus deep dives into extremist movements and conspiracy theories. Although I had read about the majority of the topics, Elle made some strong connections that I had previously missed. Correlations and causations linking some of the most extreme acts of violence in the US back to one online catalyst.

[Lyndon Turner · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was an interesting, enlightening, and well written book that helped me tie together the people and web sites I didn’t understand. The author is a self described “boot stomping feminist.” So you know going in she starts with a progressive mindset and the book certainly slants that way.

[Damon Bailey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I’m so glad someone was paying attention to these groups enough to connect the dots for the rest of us. A seriously important book. imo