Introduction The word “infodemic” was coined by the Word Health Organization (WHO) to describe the excess of information, usually false, on a particular problem, used to hinder the process of finding a solution. Even though not a recent phenomenon, in the unprecedented period that the world has been living in the last few months, the… Continue reading ““The media censorship”, free speech and the radical right: The case of Spain’s VOX party”
Operation Paperclip has fueled neo-Nazi conspiracy theories regarding the CIA, espionage, and government smokescreens for decades. Operation Paperclip is the historical inspiration behind Hunters, a television series on Amazon Prime, depicting a ragtag band of Nazi hunters operating in New York in 1977, who discover that hundreds of Nazi war criminals are conspiring to establish… Continue reading “False flags, paperclips, and super spies: the secret Nazi origins of the CIA”
The tale concocted about Tommie Lindh’s death has become an excuse to target minorities, particularly Muslims, with violence. In early May 2020, a 19-year-old was murdered in a small, relatively obscure city in northern Sweden. But search for the young man’s name online – Tommie Lindh – and you’ll get hit after hit from far-right… Continue reading “The radical right is exploiting a Swedish teen’s murder”
Can there be a better solution than spreading awareness and counter-narratives? In her recent article on openDemocracy, Miranda Christou argues that the radical right does three things: spreads (dangerously) false information, recontextualizes acknowledged facts and research, and spreads narratives to lay doubt at the ability of others to offer their own narratives. She is right about… Continue reading “Can anything be done against radical right misinformation?”
The radical right has always been good at spreading misinformation; now they might be spreading Covid-19. It is easy to look at the core ideology of the radical right—nativism, white supremacy, homophobia, misogyny—and call it ignorant and uninformed. This labelling is problematic because it is lazy; it assumes an either/or approach to knowledge and does… Continue reading “Is the radical right spreading the coronavirus?”
There is a wealth of evidence to suggest that incidents relating to the fear of foreigners are on the rise. There is no part of the globe that has not been affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic. At the time of writing, over 200 countries and territories have reported outbreaks as the global number of… Continue reading “Hate in the Time of Coronavirus”
Almost four months after the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in China, we can state with confidence that coronavirus pandemic has the potential to radically change the world and society that we live in. As part of mainstream narratives on the consequences of the pandemic has been the idea that globalisation will be reversed, and… Continue reading “The ‘other’ in a time of a crisis: Europe’s Populist Radical Right Response to Covid-19”
From lies about 5G to vast conspiracies of a Bill Gates vaccine plot, COVID-19 has sparked an avalanche of conspiracy theories. Here’s how to spot them. Did you know that the anagram of “Carnivorous” spells “Coronavirus?” Think about it!!!!!!! (a Facebook post) This was posted by a vegan who peddles all types of conspiracies about… Continue reading “How To Debunk Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories”
Since Trump’s electoral victory in 2016, many journalists have praised The Authoritarian Personality as a prophetic text that predicted the rise of fascism in the United States. On the seventieth anniversary of its publication, Andrew Woods reflects on The Authoritarian Personality’s approach to conspiracy theories and conspiracy theorists in the radical right. Following the 2016… Continue reading “Revisiting the Authoritarian Personality: Conspiracy Theories and the Crank”
What conspiracy storylines are helping create the beliefs that justify the cause of the radical right? Conspiracy theories create insecurity. If malevolent forces are said to manipulate everything on earth—the economy, politics, society, vaccination, agriculture, education, media and life itself—it affects the sense of security and normalcy that people need to feel in order to… Continue reading “Apocalypse now: the conspiracy theories of the radical right”