GNET Article on the Use of Memes in the German Extremist Online Sphere

»In their ubiquity, memes are consistently co-opted by extremist actors, including the far right, for which memes are a standard part of their online propaganda and mobilisation repertoire. Memes reflect not only a general trend towards increasingly audiovisualised communication but also that extremist messages are often presented in a supposedly harmless, humourous, and apolitical guise«.

In this GNET article, our researchers delve into the findings of their mixed-methods research, based on a large dataset. They explain which social groups are particularly targeted by memes and examine the visual elements, rhetoric, argumentation, and aesthetics used to communicate group-related hate. Furthermore, they link targeted groups to specific sharing behaviors on the web, highlighting, for instance, the extensive amount of misogynistic content and the heightened virality of antisemitic memes.

They examine more closely the particular tactics aimed at targeting women in public life: »A qualitative review shows that many of these depictions involve female politicians, particularly from the Green Party, often portrayed as hysterical, simple-minded, or incompetent. Their physical appearance is also frequently targeted. While one might question whether attacking (female) politicians is inherently misogynistic, the pattern is telling: male politicians tend to be associated with different attributes, while women seem to trigger a particular kind of hate«.