Hello, this is my personal website. I've written for places like The Atlantic, McSweeney’s, and Pacific Standard, and done production work for Netflix and Cartoon Network.
It Came from Something Awful: How a Toxic Troll Army Memed Donald Trump into Office (2019, St. Martin’s Press)
A book on the history of the alt-right, 4chan, and online trolls. The novelist Hari Kunzru called it “a wild history that is meticulously and grippingly detailed.” in The New York Review of Books.
The Return of Anonymous? — The Atlantic (2020)
A long-form article on what happened to the hacktivist collective “Anonymous” and whether their rumored “return” during the George Floyd protests was real.
4chan: The Skeleton Key to the Rise of Trump (2017)
A self-published essay I wrote that went viral. Millions of people read it. Writers in The New York Times and The New Yorker discussed it. The essay was about a burgeoning group of online trolls and otherwise unhappy people called “the alt-right.” Afterwards, I ended up doing a fair amount of reporting on this subject.
Country of Liars — Reply All Podcast (2020)
In 2021, I thought I had figured out who was behind the “QAnon” hoax. However, I had a difficult time selling the piece. Luckily, PJ Vogt had been working on the same story and asked me to collaborate with him. He released a beautifully written podcast to which I contributed reporting and an interview.
From Anonymous to QAnon — QAnon Anonymous Podcast (2021)
This podcast was a collaboration with the writer and podcaster Julian Feeld. It traces the interrelated origins of the hacktivist collective Anonymous and the QAnon conspiracy theory. The story is told through a series of interviews with the people who were involved.
Boogaloo Boys — The Atlantic (2020)
An article on a strange subgroup of far-right internet denizens who carried guns and wore Hawaiian shirts.
The First AI Millionaire (2025)
A recent piece about an AI chatbot that accumulated a million dollars after launching a meme coin.
Pacific Standard (2016)
An article on the “incel” phenomenon.
Consulting Producer — The Antisocial Network: Memes to Mayhem (Netflix)
In 2021, myself and some friends, the directors Arthur Jones and Giorgio Angelini, sold a feature documentary to Netflix on the subjects I had been reporting on: trolls, hackers, and QAnon.
Talking Head / Consultant — Feels Good Man
In 2020, Arthur Jones and Giorgio Angelini released an excellent documentary about the creator of the Pepe the Frog meme, Matt Furie, and his attempts to claw back his creation from the alt-right. The film won an award at Sundance and an Emmy. I appeared as a talking head in the film.
Animation Producer — Cops and Robbers (Netflix)
In 2021, Sony Pictures Vice President of Visual Effects Arnon Manor put together a short animated film illustrating a poem by Timothy Ware-Hill. For many years, I’ve taught in the Screenwriting and Animation Department at Morgan State University. Arnon reached out to us, and I helped some of my animation students (both current and alumni) contribute a sequence to the film.
Show Development — Cartoon Network
In 2016, artist David Hellman and I sold a cartoon show concept to Cartoon Network.
Marc Maron’s WTF Podcast — Episode 1050
Dan Harmon’s Harmontown — “Every Day is a New Hate”
Some of the illustrations and comics I've made over the years.
A show flyer for pals. Concept art for a novel. Some early comic pages I thought came out well. The cover art I made for my book.
During the pandemic, I drew this sword and sorcery comic.
Years ago, my friend Ben O'Brien co-created a youtube series called Showbeast. I made this comic for him for a compendium he was putting out.
Briefly, before newspapers expired, I drew a weekly comic for The Baltimore City Paper. Here are a few of my favorites.
Lately, I've been doing a lot of quick life sketches, mostly at cafes where I live a dissipated, idle lifestyle. Here are some recent ones.
When I write fiction, I often storyboard out scenes as I go. Here's a few pages I like.
From 2004–2006, then intermittently throughout the decades, my good friend David Hellman and I made comics on the internet. (I wrote them, David drew them.) When we started, we were just out of college. People liked them a lot and a fun little message board community grew up around the site. We were nominated for an Ignatz Award. Even now, I run into people who say they remember and love the comic, which is nice. Below are some of my favorites. The entire archive is here.
In 2015, David and I got the chance to make an Adventure Time short. I wrote it and David did the art. We were big fans of the show so this was really fun for us. It appeared in Adventure Time issues 48 and 49.
Years ago, I worked as an attorney. I didn't like the work and figured I'd never practice again. However, I ended up doing a fair amount of entertainment law because a lot of artist friend needed help with contracts for albums, shows, licensing, etc. So if you're in that position, let me know.
You can email me at dale beran at protonmail dot com. I try to stay off social media these days.