Germany’s far-right group PEGIDA is mobilizing weekly ‘virtual marches’ livestreamed on YouTube. On a Monday evening in early April 2020, around 1,000 users are waiting for a YouTube livestream, hosted by Lutz Bachmann, co-founder of the Dresden-based protest movement ‘Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the Occident’ (PEGIDA). For the second time already, Bachmann’s YouTube… Continue reading “Under lockdown, Germany’s PEGIDA goes to YouTube”
Researchers are asking if this era of self-isolation will increase radicalization, but they need to look at the existing extremism COVID-19 is exacerbating. There have been articles published that assert that there will be an uptick in far-right radicalization due to shelter-in-place orders currently occurring in many countries across the world—not to mention most of… Continue reading “Quarantined Radicals: Right-Wing Extremism In The Age Of COVID-19”
A number of far-right extremists have recently taken to social media platforms to spread conspiratorial content about COVID-19. Such conspiracy theories range from the virus being a biological weapon created by the Chinese government, to the predictable anti-Semitic tropes of ‘globalism’ claiming it was developed by the tech philanthropist Bill Gates in collaboration with the Jewish investor George… Continue reading ““#CoronaJihad”: How the Far-Right in India is Responding to the Pandemic”
Within the span of a few weeks, the social and academic lives of over 91% of the world’s youth have been completely upended, as 1.5 billion students’ schools have closed, leading to an unprecedented shift in youth online engagement. In the U.S. alone, over 55 million children now spend much of their days online in a variety of… Continue reading “The Risks of Online Radicalization in the COVID-19 Era”
On August 3, 2019, an armed gunman killed 22 and wounded 24 at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. Media reaction was swift, naming the act far-right violence due to the killer’s “anti-immigrant screed” and decision to target shoppers in a predominantly Hispanic area. Less than 24 hours later, a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio… Continue reading “The Psychology of Radical Right Violence: Social Dominance Orientation and the Cases of El Paso and Dayton”
This might be effective to counter frontmen like Tommy Robinson, but is it enough to tackle the wider ideology of the radical right? On Friday 13th September, radical right activist Tommy Robinson was released from prison after serving 9 weeks for contempt of court. Robinson was first jailed for this offence last year, when he… Continue reading “Will online takedowns defeat the offline radical right?”
The world is watching over a billion hours of video content per day on YouTube, and easy-to-use recording and streaming tools can turn anyone with a smartphone into a broadcaster. Social media platforms are rewarding this new crop of “content creators” with the ability to become a household name and earn money from their videos.… Continue reading “Alt-Tech & the Radical Right, Part 2: Inside the Radical Right’s Video Addiction”
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”
Even after hosting companies refuse to keep extremist sites like 8chan online, they find other ways to communicate on the dark web. How do we combat this? In the wake of the El Paso shooting, attention turned once again towards imageboards such as 8chan, and their role in radicalization and the spread of terrorist propaganda.… Continue reading “The Radical Right Is Finding New Ways To Communicate Online”
VOX knows how important young people are for their political goals so they cherish and pamper their junior supporters. During the first conference organised by the Centre of the Analysis of the Radical Right in London last May, Cas Mudde in his wonderful plenary drew our attention to the relationship between the Radical Right and… Continue reading “Beers for Spain and Instagram: VOX and the youth vote”