Byzantium, Historical Nostalgia, and Digital Extremism

This talk investigates how digital platforms such as 4chan and TikTok have become arenas where the Byzantine past is reimagined, mobilized, and weaponized within contemporary ideological and extremist movements. In these contexts, Byzantium is mobilized within broader ideological frameworks with real-life political implications. Such engagement should not be dismissed as the activity of fringe online trolls. Rather, it constitutes a form of “historically grounded” radicalism.