The Anti-Defamation League expressed its concern over a trend that seems to connect far-right extremists across the globe, a day after a synagogue in the German city of Halle was attacked by a gunman inspired by supremacist and antisemitic ideologies.
“While we are still learning about the motives of the shooter in Halle, the attack needs to be understood within the context of the growing internationalization of white supremacy and online radicalization,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. “Halle, Christchurch, Poway and Pittsburgh did not happen in a vacuum, and these attacks share important elements – not only in the ideology that inspired them but also in the methods and language of the perpetrators.”
In a recently released report devoted to the internationalization of the white supremacist movement, the American anti-hate organization established more than a century ago highlighted some of the characteristics of this trend.
Among them, the use of social media platforms, both mainstream and relatively obscure ones, to share hateful content and promote the actions perpetrated, and the feeling of empowerment because of the ability to influence the political climate and to reach out to “the disaffected white.”
According to the ADL, Germany has a long-standing tradition of exchange with American far-right extremists; for the past two decades, they have attended each other’s events.
Moreover, strategies first employed by the American “alt-Right,” such as the political use of memes and trolling, have inspired German extremists. For example, a group of activists has been tried for promoting the far-Right party, Alternative for Germany, using memes.