Memes remain an important potential influence on far-right online radicalisation and cannot be overlooked as an aspect of internet culture. The far right has always thrived in the online space, however scholars Lisa Bogerts and Maik Fielitz suggest that the advent of Web 2.0 catalysed “a process of (post-) modernisation” within the movement, thus creating… Continue reading “The Influence of Memes on Far-Right Radicalisation”
Since 2019, with the attacks in Christchurch, Poway, El Paso, Bærum and Halle, a new form of right-wing terrorism has taken off. Its modus operandi consists of three inseparably linked acts: first, posting a manifesto on an image board that puts racist, far-right content into nihilistic memes; second, attacking a target group at gunpoint, killing… Continue reading “The Visual Culture of Far-Right Terrorism”
The radical right has become increasingly skillful at using dishonest memes to radicalize a wider audience into a state of extremism. Far-right populist nationalism seems contagious. It’s the new normal and one can only wonder how it all started, as the rise of far-right populism appears to come out of nowhere. An average reader of the mainstream… Continue reading “How The Radical Right Weaponizes Memes”
These memes frame violent mass murder as sanctified white male dominance and a pathway for disaffected young white men to recover their “proper” masculinity. A new series of memes are being shared on social media platforms, including 4Chan and the 8Chan replacement EndChan. These memes visually connect violent Incel culture – an offshoot of Pick… Continue reading “Manifesto memes: the radical right’s new dangerous visual rhetorics”
The Jewish Octopus trope has 19th century roots but was most fully exploited in Nazi Germany. This article is dedicated to the memory of Paul R. Weinstein. A January issue of The Times of Israel reproduced, as an example of “recent anti-Semitic memes around George Soros,” a caricature of Soros as a tentacled monster hovering over North… Continue reading “George Soros Targeted By Anti-Semitic Meme That Predates The Nazis”
Linking hate speech or extreme language with humor looks disturbing, since it is assumed that prejudice, intolerance and fanaticism are humorless per se. Memes have a frequent presence in our daily lives. They flood our timelines on different social media platforms, usually to provide us with a smile. Originally, the term “meme” was coined by… Continue reading “Memes of Hate: Countering Cyber Islamophobia”
This blog post draws on content from a chapter for a forthcoming report from VOX-Pol (voxpol.eu) In the last three decades, the emergence of digital communications has had a significant impact on how the radical right communicates, both between members and toward external audiences. For the most part, we tend to think about digital communications… Continue reading “Radical Right Digital Communications: Webforums, Political Blogs, and the Swarm”