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The Neo-Nazi Revolution

A new manifestation of Nazi is emerging online. The product of the internet generation, neo-Nazis are now are tech-savvy, eloquent, and effective. With these tools, they are building a parallel online society to create large, connected communities that can be called upon in the real world.

Mirroring the pop-internet culture of today, their tactics draw in and retain new ideological recruits, exploiting online platforms to elevate their most prolific members to the status of celebrities. Neo-Nazi supporters flock around these influencers, harnessing the digital infrastructure created for online gaming, video sharing, and podcasting to grow strong and engaged communities. More and more, the hatred inculcated online is spilling out onto the streets.

Here, we document how neo-Nazis use the tools of the internet to sophisticatedly build up a new generation of engaged activists.

 

Portrait of Gideon Freud, author on the ActiveFence blog
Gideon Freud

Gideon is a Senior Intelligence Writer at ActiveFence. He graduated from Oxford University in 2012, where he studied social and cultural anthropology with a special focus on the growth of political extremism in Europe. He joined ActiveFence in January 2021, and is interested in researching the development of national laws focused on regulating online activities.