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Narratives of Far-right Killers are Indistinguishable from Many on Social Media
Supporters of far-right narratives are rarely original. It should not be surprising that people who are troubled by change, diversity, religious plurality and social liberalism are also often parrot-like regurgitators of simplistic notions about ‘us and them’, as well as blind followers of authoritarian manipulators.
If you search Twitter for terms that excite the far-right, such as ‘Tommy Robinson’, ‘Islam’, ‘white genocide’ and ‘immigrants’, you will see a dreary repetition of the same phrases, the same conspiracy theories and the same terms used to attack those who challenge them.
Some of this can be accounted for by the presence of bots that amplify far-right narratives. However, many are, sadly, real. And even the most extreme members of the movement adhere to the same patterns, in terms of linguistic and behavioural unoriginality. Their narratives are like words going through sticks of seaside rock. You can break the rock at any point and read the same simple message, in the jagged lumps of sickliness.
I’m not going to quote the semi-coherent rants of the man linked to the mass murders of worshippers in Christchurch, New Zealand. Legal proceedings are active, which makes it unwise, and this is exactly what he would want. Like Anders Breivik, who the…
