‘A rabbit hole of paranoia’: what an IVF clinic bombing tells us about young men and online extremism

After an attack in Palm Springs, experts say the internet is only helping lone wolves find dangerous fringe theories

Experts say an online ecosystem that allows lone actors to latch on to fringe viewpoints is bolstering violent extremism in the US, following an attack over the weekend on a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California.

Investigators are combing through the writings of a 25-year-old man killed in a large explosion outside the American Reproductive Centers, an IVF facility, that was heavily damaged in what they have described as an “intentional act of terrorism”. The suspect in the bombing, Guy Edward Bartkus, left behind writings that appear to hold fringe theories of “antinatalism” and nihilism, ideologies that oppose procreation and have a general sense of the meaninglessness of life.