Evolution of Hate Online: Examining Hate groups and individual adherent mobilisation online Jamie R. Noulty (Queen’s University) [Co-author: Bradley J. Galloway (Ontario Tech University)] Abstract: Since the 1990s, the internet has been utilised by extremists for multiple purposes, including recruitment, radicalisation, and monetisation to support numerous extremist groups. In this study, we interviewed 20 former participants who had lived experiences within the confines of the violent far-right extremist movement (VRFE). Our study focused on the generational use of the internet by extremists from the 1990s to the present and investigated how their internet usage might have been linked to their offline activities while immersed in the overall VRFE movement. The research drew primarily from qualitative semi-structured interviews with 20 former far-right extremists from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and the European Union and was based on their experiences and interactions with the internet, online content, and right-wing forums. As right-wing activity has increased, and some of the ideology has moved from closed forums to mainstream forums, the interviews were essential to understand the changes in early internet usage to present day. In this paper, we will indicate how extremists manipulated early online platforms to initially serve the VRFE movement and how this has changed. Mainstreaming right-wing extremist positions Dr Brigitte Naderer (Medical University of Vienna) [Co-authors: Sophia Rothut (Ludwig-Maximilians- University Munich), Heidi Schulze (Ludwig-Maximilians- University Munich) & Prof Diana Rieger (Ludwig-Maximilians- University Munich)] Abstract: This presentation will examine the strategies that extremists have used in recent years to try to integrate their ideologies into the mainstream of society. These strategies involve extremist actors changing the presentation of their narratives in order to appeal to a broad spectrum of members of society. This process is referred to as mainstreaming. Although this phenomenon is not new, the factors that contribute to the mainstreaming of radical and extremist ideas have not yet been comprehensively conceptualized. A systematic literature review of 143 studies was conducted to identify the elements that promote mainstreaming dynamics. The results show that the operationalization of mainstreaming is particularly challenging due to its gradual and long-term nature. For this reason, it often remains a buzzword. We propose a conceptualization of mainstreaming that understands it as two communicative steps (content positioning and susceptibility) and present 12 contributing factors. Additionally, we will present the results of a longitudinal content analysis of content shared on Telegram by the Querdenken movement in Germany (a protest movement against the COVID-19 measures with far-right tendencies). This analysis will highlight the prevalence of mainstreaming narratives and provide an opportunity to discuss the impact that the mainstreaming of far-right ideas has on society.
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