Far-right and anti-democratic currents online

Abstract

Far-right extremists have a strong history of capitalising on technological developments. From being early adopters of communication technologies like mailing lists and web-forums, to web 2.0 and alt-tech, the far right has been adapting to, and shaping, the available online environment. Groups, amorphous movements, and traditional parties have embraced a multiplicity of venues to coordinate, communicate, and radicalise. As regulators and social media platforms attempt to moderate extremist presence and activity, the far right has innovated in the use of technologies, but also in the development of communities and the diversification of behaviour (online). One such innovation can be seen in their foothold on both mainstream and alt-tech platforms, adapting to content moderation efforts, establishing a variety of social media presences. Particular attention has been paid to the development of far-right platforms and their role in enabling community formation and extreme speech in comparison to the content moderation efforts of mainstream platforms. As noted in this panel, these content moderation and regulatory efforts shape the available environment and impact identity and activity. This panel provides an encompassing and varied view of the far right online, moving away from a one-dimensional understanding of far-right identity, self-presentation, and behavior. It particularly focuses on how the far right online has responded to external pressures and actively participated in community identity construction and discourse. The papers engage with a variety of platforms and contexts, including mainstream and extreme platforms, representation in the media, and the role of audiences for far-right mobilisation. It engages with mainstreaming, adaptive online behavior by far right actors, as well as the effects of moderation and regulation on far-right content and identity. It tackles issues surrounding (1) messaging around notions of freedom and democracy by German Querdenker on Telegram; (2) identity negotiation between far-right creators and fan audiences on mainstream platforms; (3) the interruption of building group identities through deplatforming; (4) metapolitics in a new media environment; and (5) populist rhetorics and authoritarian agitation online. This panel sets out to explore both platform-specific facets and innovation by the far right, including online networking, movement innovation, and belief innovation in order to highlight the diversity in experiences and approaches. Rather than focusing on one phenomenon, this panel seeks to understand the varying innovations of the far right.

Title	Details
The making of far-right platforms – Alt-Tech affordances and their impact on online community-building	View Paper Details
Far-Right creators and their audiences - the discursive negotiation of identity on Reddit and YouTube during the US Presidential Election 2020	View Paper Details
White supremacist projects between virtual communities and networked publics	View Paper Details
Identitarian metapolitics in the new media environment: Tracing the rise and decline of a contemporary extreme right movement in Germany	View Paper Details
Actualizing the Concept of ‘Authoritarian Agitation’: Symbolic Economies and the Role of Social Media Audiences	View Paper Details