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Day: May 1, 2021

Gewalt Internet Kameradschaft Rechtsextremismus

From memes to race war: How extremists use popular culture to lure recruits

The first images of “The Last Battle” seem designed to rile people on the conservative side of the culture wars: public nudity, strippers, children dressed in drag — symbols of a society supposedly in a moral free fall. Then the online video pivots to more extreme material: quick-cut scenes of attacks on White people, bogus allegations of election fraud and a parade of pictures purporting to show “the Jewish Communist takeover.”. The six-minute video, distributed on gaming platforms and social media, rapidly reveals itself as a visually arresting propaganda piece — a recruiting tool for far-right extremists that draws viewers in with “They’re coming for your guns” and “They’re opening your borders” and then hits them with “They’re humiliating your race” and “Defend your race.” The far-right groups that blossomed during Donald Trump’s presidency — including white supremacists, self-styled militias and purveyors of anti-government conspiracy theories — have created enduring communities by soft-pedaling their political goals and focusing on entertaining potential recruits with the tools of pop culture, according to current and former members of the groups and those who study the new extremism. They approach young people on gaming platforms, luring them into private rooms with memes that start out as edgy humor and gradually grow overtly racist. They literally sell their ideas, commodifying their slogans and actions as live streams, T-shirts and coffee mugs. They insinuate themselves into chats, offering open ears and warm friendship to people who are talking online about being lonely, depressed or chronically ill. The pathways into the kind of extremism that led to the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, threats against lawmakers and last year’s armed confrontations at state capitals nationwide are often initially anything but ideological. (…) “They befriend young players,” passing along anti-Black and antisemitic memes, said Picciolini, who runs the Free Radicals Project, which seeks to de-radicalize extremists. “They do the same thing in depression forums and autism communities online. They find people looking for help and they invite them to chat, send them funny memes. Some kids see those memes and say, ‘Not cool’ and some giggle. Those who giggle get invited to private rooms.” White supremacists, militias, men’s rights groups, anti-Muslim agitators and other extremist organizers have created a loosely linked network of multimedia offerings, including videos, podcasts, lectures, articles and games such as Black Lives Splatter, which challenges players to drive their vehicles into as many Black Lives Matter demonstrators as they can.

via washington post: From memes to race war: How extremists use popular culture to lure recruits

Rechtsextremismus

Neo-Nazi terror group still spreading race hate despite ban

The Atomwaffen Division has been listed as a terror group by the British Government but is still active online. A neo-Nazi group is still openly peddling racial hatred online despite being outlawed as a terror organisation in the UK last week. The Atomwaffen Division (AWD) has been proscribed by the UK Government but is still active on the social media platform Telegram. Propaganda material including a video showing firearms training and flyers calling for an armed race war are still present on the messaging app despite members and supporters of the group facing jail terms of up to 10 years. Announcing the ban, the Government said the move would ‘support the police in their work to disrupt the threat that these white supremacist groups continue to pose to the UK’s national security’.  Home Secretary Priti Patel said: ‘Vile and racist white supremacist groups like this exist to spread hate, sow division and advocate the use of violence to further their sick ideologies. ‘I will do all I can to protect young and vulnerable people from being radicalised which is why I am taking action to proscribe this dangerous group.’ In one video, a person is shown firing a gun in target practice, while propaganda material declares war on ‘race traitors’ and calls for an armed struggle. The failure to remove the harmful content can be revealed as sports bodies and athletes unite to boycott social media over racist abuse and trolling. The protest on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter began at 3pm today and lasts until 11.59pm on Monday.

via metro: Neo-Nazi terror group still spreading race hate despite ban

Dienste Gewalt Kameradschaft Rechtsextremismus

Five arrested in right-wing #terror raids across England and Wales

Five people, including a 16-year-old boy, have been arrested on suspicion of right-wing terrorism offences. Officers carried out a series of raids in Keighley, in West Yorkshire, Swindon and Anglesey in Wales. Following the arrests, bomb disposal experts were called to a property in Keighley after officers discovered “potentially suspicious material”. A cordon has been put in place around the property and a number of nearby homes have been evacuated, police said. Counter Terrorism Policing North East (CTPNE) said two men, aged 29 and 30, and a 28-year-old woman have been arrested in Keighley on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. A 16-year-old boy was arrested in Swindon and a 28-year-old man was arrested in Anglesey on suspicion of the same offence. All five have been taken to a police station in West Yorkshire for questioning. ‘No immediate risk’ A CTPNE spokesperson said the arrests form part of an ongoing investigation into right-wing terrorism.

via bbc: Five arrested in right-wing terror raids across England and Wales

siehe auch: Bomb squad evacuate street as five arrested in right wing terror raids. Five people have been arrested and a street has been evacuated by the bomb squad as part of an investigation into right wing terrorism. Two men and a woman were arrested in Keighley, near Bradford, by officers from Counter Terrorism Policing North East this morning. The men, aged 29 and 30, and the woman, aged 28, have been taken to a police station in West Yorkshire for questioning. They were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, contrary to Section 41 Terrorism Act 2000. A man, 28, from North Wales and a teenage boy, 16, from Wiltshire have also been arrested on suspicion of the same offences as part of the investigation. Police searched two addresses in Keighley and found what they described as ‘potentially suspicious material’. The bomb squad has been called in ‘to provide specialist advice and to arrange the safe removal of the items if required’, police said. A number of people who live on the street have had to be evacuated from their homes while the specialist officers investigate.

Rechtsextremismus

Giuliani’s taxes will now be scrutinized as his life is ‘put under the microscope’: ex-prosecutor

On CNN Saturday morning, former New York City homicide prosecutor Paul Callan said that the investigation into Rudy Giuliani could put his finances “under a microscope.” “There are questions, as we’ve reported, as according to CNN reporting, within the former President Trump’s inner circle as to who could be next,” said anchor Christi Paul. “Do you think this raid tells you or any of us that there’s more to come?” “It’s very difficult to read these tea leaves accurately,” said Callan. “The Southern District is very tight-lipped about what they’re looking for. The only thing we know from the warrant is that they’re investigating Giuliani on this Foreign Agent’s Registration Act violation. There are a number of other things, though.” (…) “And once they start looking into your business dealings, it won’t just be political things they’re looking at with respect to Giuliani. They’ll be looking at his business dealings. They’ll be looking at his tax returns. Once the feds put the dogs on you, they really have the ability to examine your life under a microscope. So it wouldn’t surprise me at all if there are other crimes also being looked at. Whether they can prove anything is another matter.”

via rawstory: Giuliani’s taxes will now be scrutinized as his life is ‘put under the microscope’: ex-prosecutor

Dienste Rechtsextremismus

Intolerance, homophobia and violence have no place in our society – Karins

Intolerance, homophobia and violence have no place in our society, Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins (New Unity) said on Monday after the coalition meeting in connection with a recent tragic incident in Tukums. The public needs clarity about what happened in Tukums, the Prime Minister said in response to a question LETA. Asked whether the investigation into the Tukums incident could be carried out centrally at the national level, Maris Mozvillo (KPV LV), head of the Saeima faction of KPV LV, expressed confidence that Interior Minister Sandis Girgens (KPV LV) is working hard to uncover this crime. Mozvillo pointed out that the interior affairs sector has been facing deplorable funding for years. The politician positively assessed the fact that President Egils Levits and Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins (New Unity) have expressed support for investments in the interior affairs sector in the future. Minister of Justice Janis Bordans (New Conservative Party) pointed out that it is possible to work on improving policing. If someone submits a report to police regarding threats made and is associated with a hate crime, then the police must act proactively to protect the potential victim, the politician said. Meanwhile, Daniel Pavluts, the co-chair of For Development and Minister of Health, said that he had spoken to the Minister of the Interior Girgens, who had confirmed that he was following the investigation and whether the previously expressed threats had been properly responded to. For Development’s faction at Saeima has initiated amendments that would envisage clarifying the responsibility of a person for crimes related to social hatred, the leader of the party association pointed out.

via baltictimes: Intolerance, homophobia and violence have no place in our society – Karins

Rechtsextremismus

Argentine police say they thwarted neo-Nazi attack on synagogue; 2 arrested

Officials say they believe group was planning Shabbat assault; guns, knives, radio communications equipment and Nazi literature found during raids. Police have arrested two people who authorities believe were planning a Friday-night attack on an Argentine synagogue. The country’s federal judiciary was investigating a group called Goy Group Unleashed, according to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, when prosecutors found evidence on the messaging services Telegram and WhatsApp of the imminent Shabbat attack in the Tucuman province of northern Argentina. Police ordered two raids on the capital city of the province, San Miguel de Tucuman, and in a smaller town called El Manantial. In addition to the two arrests, they found guns, knives, radio communications equipment and Nazi literature. “That two of the group decided to take violent action against a Jewish community is a worrying step, as the threat in Latin America had, until now, come from the far left and Islamist/Iran,” Shimon Samuels, director for international relations of the Wiesenthal Center, said in a statement Monday.

via times of israel: Argentine police say they thwarted neo-Nazi attack on synagogue; 2 arrested

Internet Rechtsextremismus

‘Bunkerchan’ Is Trying to Deradicalize Online Nazis

As far-right sites multiply, activists are moving into their turf. White supremacists, neo-Nazis, and members of the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups gather for the Unite the Right rally in Lafayette Park across from the White House on Aug. 12, 2018. “Dollars” is modest when asked what impact his forum has had on visitors from 4chan or 8chan. “I think that a solid 15% might learn something, think twice.” He gets a little more bullish: “Maybe as high as 30%.” Dollars, who asked to remain anonymous for his own safety, is a veteran of some of the most contentious sites on the internet. For more than 15 years, 4chan and its offspring have become renowned, and eventually infamous, for occupying prime internet real estate. The image boards offer all manner of community for millions of young men (and a few women) around the world. From porn to politics, anime to the occult, the image boards allow users to chat with each other and swap images, all anonymously. 4chan and the other “chans” are interwoven with the chaotic history of the internet. They are where the activist group Anonymous first began. They churned out cat memes and child pornography alike. 4chan was the birthplace of the QAnon conspiracy movement, while 8chan has been instrumental in growing the sprawling cult. They both helped foster the incel (“involuntary celibate”) movement. As 8chan became the hot spot for mass shooters and domestic terrorists to upload their manifestos and crimes, there were calls to have the site knocked offline—by whom, exactly, it wasn’t clear, but it folded quickly into a debate about repealing the U.S. internet law Section 230. And there were free speech defenses by those who may find the language on the chans abhorrent, but who think it should be protected. That tug-of-war continues. But it was the online denizens pressuring internet service providers to cut off 8chan who ultimately proved most effective. For a time. The playbook has now been repeated for a raft of troublesome online websites: the neo-Nazi Daily Stormer, Twitter clones Parler and Gab, and a constellation of QAnon fan pages.

via foreignpolicy: ‘Bunkerchan’ Is Trying to Deradicalize Online Nazis

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