A Guide to Online Radical-Right Symbols, Slogans and Slurs
April 02, 2020 A Guide to Online Radical-Right Symbols, Slogans and Slurs Produced by Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right Report Author: Dr John E Richardson, Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right Glossary Author: Dr Matthias Wasser, Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right Edited by Professor Matthew Feldman & Dr David Tucker, Academic Consulting Services Ltd. This work has been supported by Facebook. 2 Table of Contents Introduction………………………..…...…..4 Images and Symbols………………………..8 Language: Codes, Acronyms and Key Phrases………………….………………….36 Glossary of Far-Right Terminology………62 3 Introduction 4 Introduction 1 Extremist online discourse valorises, exonerates and so at minimum implicitly acts to incite violence against opponents and those deemed (genetically, ethnically, religiously, sexually, politically or nationally) ‘inferior’. Given that such goals are socially unacceptable, and often illegal, extremist speech communities need to camouflage their politics by either shifting the context in which they take place (e.g. private meetings, encrypted communications) or by coding and cloaking their terminology and symbols. Codes, euphemisms and veiled signs are therefore a defining feature of online extremist discourse.1 2 The use of such codes serves a range of interpersonal, rhetorical and political functions. First, codes help to ensure that communication remains within accepted (typically legal) boundaries. These codes shift over time, partly because what is socially and/or legally proscribed changes. Second, since codes essentially offer a new way to convey political extremism, they signal the continued advocacy of a political ideology for those able to interpret the code. Just as a party logo might change but will continue to represent the party in question, so too a new word, image or meme can communicate an established ideological commitment.
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