Extremist messaging now woven into music and YouTube videos, with one expert saying: ‘You can be radicalised sitting on your couch’

Extremist messaging now woven into music and YouTube videos, with one expert saying: ‘You can be radicalised sitting on your couch’

The two men chop peppers, slice aubergines and giggle into the camera as they delve into the art of vegan cooking. Both are wearing ski masks and T-shirts bearing Nazi symbols.

The German videos – titled Balaclava Kitchen – started in 2014 and ran for months before YouTube took down the channel for violating its guidelines.

But it offered a glimpse of how far-right groups have seized on cultural production – from clothing brands to top 40 music – to normalise their ideas, in a process that researchers say has hit new heights in the age of social media.

  • the_q@lemmy.zip
    10·
    2 days ago

    Folks are just now noticing and that’s why it’s gotten a bad as it has.

    • HazardousBanjo@lemmy.world
      5·
      2 days ago

      YouTube began to promote “subtle” and not so subtle far right influencers under the tenor of Susan Wojcicki.

      It was under her leadership that the Adpocalypse occurred and she immediately surrendered to the bourgeoisie sponsors to slam a colossal hammer down on the monetization of virtually all independent creators, which vastly affected poor lefty creators far more than the rich fascist ones (which was intentional)

      Not to mention the CONSTANT bending over backwards to protect fascists like the Paul Brothers, Alex Jones, Steven Crowder, etc, through CONSTANT AND UNCEASING ToS VIOLATIONS

      Only banning or demonitizing any of them when public backlash reached critical levels. I don’t believe she ever allowed the Paul Brothers to be demonitized or punished in any way whatsoever. Even the Suicide Forrest video was #1 trending for an entire day before someone at YT finally took it down.

      She truly was the cancer that infected the mainstream internet with the far-right. May she rot in hell.

    • mycodesucks@lemmy.world
      9·
      2 days ago

      People have been noticing for a long time, but almost everyone’s attitude has been “I’m really busy and this is someone else’s responsibility.”

      Even this article… the press is sounding an alarm, but to whom, exactly?

      The time to stop this was a decade ago, but now the cancer has wound itself into every corner of our societies to the point where it can’t be easily excised. There is no authority to appeal to to say “Hey! This is fascist!” because acting now means acting against half your voters.

      This is not even closing the barn door after the cows have left - this is closing the barn door while the barn burns down.