Description
This article constitutes a first step in understanding how Internet memes are used by current extreme-right milieus. In the last years, the Global North has experienced a wave of right-wing extremism characterised by a strong online subculture of racism, misogyny and xenophobia. This new wave has its own symbols and language, characterized by internationalization and digital nativism. This wave of extreme right actors also has an unmatched capacity to encourage xenophobic tendencies in public opinion, effectively whitewashing or “mainstreaming” violence towards their chosen enemies: women, Muslims, LGTBQ+, etc.
At the same time, counter-terrorism programmes in Europe have sought to counter this wave of online radicalisation to right wing extremism, with CVE (countering violent extremism) programmes. But these initiatives often miss the mark, either because they lack legitimacy in the eye of Internet users, or because they underestimate the extent today’s online extremist culture and capacities to mobilise people and resources.
Internet memes, an established form of Internet language, happen to also be a key aspect of the extreme-right online culture. This paper, firstly, approaches right-wing extremism as a visual, cultural and political space, and borrows from other authors to offer a conceptualisation of the extreme-right presence as an online ecosystem, heterogeneous and multifaceted. Secondly, the article identifies the various functions of Internet memes for these groups; identity formation, communication/propaganda, whitewashing violence and gate-keeping. The article concludes with an assessment of how and when to successfully incorporate Internet memes in counter- extremism campaigns.
