Civil society groups also discovered 39 Instagram profiles linked to the group, 16 Twitter Accounts, and 34 YouTube channels.
Almost 60% of social media profiles were aimed at making money. Channels total over 9.5 million views. They display links to online stores or images promoting their products. Stores on the right include T-shirts with labels that say “My favorite color is white” and “Refugees are not welcome.” The T-shirts cost nearly $23.
There are also stickers available for $3 and skulls for $7. Meanwhile, the One People One Struggle or OPOS Records Facebook feed is chock-full of new music and merchandising promotions. It includes “Pride and Dignity,” “True Aggression,” and “One Family.”
Steam to manage far-right communities
They also have their own Twitter and Instagram accounts. Counter Extremism Project or CEP, a group that combats extremists. It has created a dataset showing groups in Germany considered to be far-right, according to Reuters.
According to Alexander Ritzmann, a researcher at CEP, extremist groups create an infrastructure where they can meet people, recruit them and earn money. The leaders of these groups are not the ones who commit violent crimes. Instead, they build stories and promote activities where violence occurs.
The CEP has said it focuses on groups that want to overthrow democratic institutions such as minority protection and press freedom. These groups are those who believe that the white race is “under siege” and should be “protected”.
Neo-Nazis: CEP’s Investigation
No one has been banned so far, but almost all of the groups have been described in intelligence reports as extremists.
On Facebook, groups avoid gross violations of platform rules, such as using hate speed or displaying Nazi symbols as they are illegal in Germany.
Bypassing the rules of social media platforms, German far-right groups are using the power of social media. This is to promote their band, merchandise, festivals, events, music labels, and tournaments. This can generate millions in sales.
These groups can also connect like-minded people. However, cutting these groups online could have adverse consequences. The CEP is careful not to ban people based on who they are, as they only need to be banned from what they do online. Otherwise, they will impair the group’s freedom of expression.
In the United States, the Neo-Nazis used Steam to manage far-right communities, which led to the arrest of a member from Virginia. Other social media sites, such as Discord, have cleaned up by removing neo-Nazi communities.
Image courtesy of TeXplaiNIT/YouTube