According to many on Twitter, MSNBC has lost its mind. They published an article on Twitter, with the words “The far right’s obsession with fitness is going digital”

And the article title is “Pandemic fitness trends have gone extreme — literally”

Now, if you think that’s bad. Here’s the image that sparked criticisms against MSNBC.

MSNBC’s opinion piece spoke against fitness trends with an image of Nazis doing their infamous salute.

What it’s actually about

The article sheds light on extremist groups in America using fitness and mixed martial arts to lure new recruits into their ideology. Especially youths.

“Physical fitness has always been central to the far right. In “Mein Kampf,” Hitler fixated on boxing and jujitsu, believing they could help him create an army of millions whose aggressive spirit and impeccably trained bodies, combined with “fanatical love of the fatherland,” would do more for the German nation than any “mediocre” tactical weapons training.” – Cynthia Miller-Idriss, MSNBC Columnist

She makes the claim that extremist recruitment is moving to chat groups, gyms, online communities, live-streaming fights, and video games. Mixing “extremist fighting culture” with entertainment.

Why the outrage?

Fitness and masculinity is a growing trend. Especially for male youths. The online fitness industry alone, grew by 77.33% and is the fastest-growing market in the US. [22 FULFILLING FITNESS INDUSTRY STATISTICS [2023]: HOME WORKOUT AND GYM STATISTICS, Zippia.com]

Figures like Jordan Peterson, Andrew Tate, Alex Hormozi, Joe Rogan, and positive gym bros on TikTok have become role models for a lot of male youths. Teaching them how to overcome the stress they face in life and to focus on becoming capable.

And the stress most male youth face in life is near fatal. In the US alone, men were almost 4 times more likely to die by suicide than women. [https://afsp.org/suicide-statistics/]

So, spending time at the gym and becoming part of a fitness community has saved many men from suicide. It has improved their lives emotionally, mentally, financially, and of course physically.

Male youths now have a healthy outlet to express themselves and recover from declining mental health. Especially those who don’t have the luxury to seek therapy or medical aid.

So it’s reasonable that an article titled “Far-right’s obsession with fitness is going digital”, would receive backlash from the general public. Because the majority who are obsessed with fitness do not identify as extremists, or far-right.

Wouldn’t it be much clearer to say ‘Far-right groups are using fitness trends to recruit young men’?

The backlash