And for some reason, everyone always blames the yewts.

4chan may have given us QAnon, but they also gave us Anonymous, and Project Chanology, so I'd say the benefits outweigh the harm - even if they're a buncha degenerates.

As for "brown shirts", its common knowledge that any illegal acts (threats, cheese pizza requests, and general declarations of intent), are immediately reported by the boards to the authorities. For all the hate they get, they do go to lengths to comply with legal doctrine, and to keep things clean. The extremists who didn't care for this, went to new sites, which have since been shuttered.

The remaining groups, while solidified beyond the public eye, are exactly that - beyond public knowledge and interest. Exclusion like that tends to inhibit "recruitment", especially when noone knows where to find them.

Remember - things look increasingly bad in the age of mass media, but that's mainly due to previously unknown events receiving a scrutinous spotlight. This is a good thing! Not only are most negative news events less common and intense than what when unnoticed before the rise of electronic media, but now more people are being made aware of what is occurring, and responding to it. Fearmongers will exist, but they're always selling something, so no attention should be paid to them.

We are aware. We are watchful. But we are not, and never should be, afraid.