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However, its not just hopelessness that worries Alison. Her son has become a political extremist. The first signs were a few sexist comments. Then the anti-migrant rhetoric, the racism, the homophobia. Today, hes praising Donald Trump and following the far-right ghouls stalking British Twitter.

Alisons son is a case study in why todays youth are moving towards the far right. The success of far right extremists in the European elections was helped considerably by the youth vote. Commentators blame TikTok propaganda, Covid desocialising the young, or the Ukraine conflict spooking kids that theyll one day have to fight a European war.

Thats just window-dressing. The young are moving to the far right for the same reasons as Alisons son: the political status quo in the West has failed them.

Todays young are the first generation to see living standards fall in comparison to their parents. Our children will not have better lives than us, and they know it.

If democracy has failed you, why vote for it any more? Its that brutally simple. Why be surprised at kids abandoning this failed settlement and seeking answers in strongmen and authoritarians?

Fascists and extremists offer scapegoats for the hopeless. Blame foreigners, blame minorities - blame anybody but your tribe.

Whats happening should scare us. Allegiance to the far right has traditionally been the reserve of angry, older men. However, now that the young are shifting to the extremes, were facing a demographic time bomb. If the young are embracing the far right now, what will their views be like when they hit middle age?

Statistics from the European elections should make us tremble. Were entering a new era of the far-right and much of the success of extremists is down to the young. In Spain, 22% of voters aged 18-24 say they back far-right parties like Vox.

READ MORE BY NEIL MACKAY

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In Germany, the far right AfD polled 16% among those aged 16-24, and 18% for those aged 25-34. By comparison, only 8% of those aged 70 and older gave the far right their vote. When not excusing Hitlers SS, the AfD ruthlessly targets the young.

In France, Marine Le Pens National Rally is the most popular party for those aged 18-34. Opinion polls show NR on 32% among the young - far ahead of its nearest rival.

So much for the notion that every kid is woke. Rather, the kids are alt-right.

Le Pen is particularly savvy in messaging aimed at the young, promising to eliminate taxes for anyone under-30, and offering financial assistance and better housing to students. She made 28-year-old Jordan Bardella party president.

In Belgium, Portugal and Finland younger voters back the far right in numbers that either equal or exceed older voters. In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders far right party won the 2023 election by linking lack of housing for young people to immigration.

It is long past time for the parties of the centre left and centre right to wake up. The failed status quo they offer is driving the young into the arms of extremists.

The far right bends the knee to Russia. Picture a world in which Trump is in the White House, and the far right in power across much of Europe. The result? Ukraine defeated, democracy cowed, Europes eastern border imperilled.

To halt the flight of the young to the far right, we must fix the economy. The young need hope. They need to know democracy works for them. The success of democracy is contingent upon the success of the economy. If the young dont believe theyve an economic future under democracy theyll shift to the extremes.

We can blame the young all we want. Call them stupid, say theyre disgusting, throw around whatever epithets and theories we wish. But the fundamental reasons for the rise of far right youth is us: their parents and grandparents.

We allowed this system to take root, we saw it going wrong and did nothing to change it. We voted in the same failed politicians who let it all stagnate. Build a swamp, and people will act like they live in a swamp.

Theres some hope. In nations where the far right and populists have tasted power - like Italy and Poland - the young have shifted away from the extremes. In other words, once kids get a taste of what theyve been fool enough to vote for, buyers remorse kicks in.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen with Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally, after last weekends EU elections (Image: PA)

In Britain and America, the young havent been captured by right-wing extremists as they have in Europe. Why? Because Trumps Maga movement and Nigel Farages Reform havent got the brains to cut through with the young.

We should thank our lucky stars theyre too busy blaming the young and mocking them as snowflakes. When they start reaching out to them, matters might become more troubling.

For those clutching their pearls about Reform being referred to as "extremist", read the report in Tuesdays Times outlining how one in 10 Reform candidates are "friends"on Facebook with Gary Raikes, the former BNP organiser, who founded the New British Union.

NBU activists call themselves "Blackshirts"; the party wants a "fascist revolution", and sees democracy as an "obstruction"which needs replaced with dictatorship. One Reform candidate said Britain should have been neutral and not fought the Nazis.

If my friends son could afford to rent a flat, and be given some hope that one day hed get a job which matched his talents, then I know for sure that the anger which is tipping him to the extremes would fade and hed become the same decent democratic citizen as his mum and dad.

But while we live in a society controlled by politicians who couldnt care less about his life, how can I blame this boy for what hes become?

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The kids are alt-right: why todays youth are embracing extremism - HeraldScotland

Nicki Minaj performs onstage during iHeartRadio Y100's Jingle Ball 2023.

Nicki Minaj performs onstage during iHeartRadio Y100's Jingle Ball 2023.

This article is part of HuffPosts weekly culture and entertainment newsletter, The Culture Catchall.Click here to subscribe.

Correction:The Feb. 1 installment of the Culture Catchall newsletter formerly referred to Ben Shapiro as a white supremacist and alt-right, both of which Shapiro forcefully denies. The terms have been replaced. Shapiro is a conservative commentator and podcaster who rose to prominence as an editor at far-right media outlet Breitbart before founding The Daily Wire. HuffPost apologizes for the error.

Twas the night before Black History Month, and the rap girlies were beefing. Well, Nicki Minaj is beefing with herself, once again. Brilliantly summarized by HuffPosts Taiyler S. Mitchell, Megan Thee Stallion released a diss track called HISS last week, which presumably aimed a few lyrics at Drake and Minaj but did not name either person explicitly. One line mentioning a 1994 policy regarding sexual predators alluded to Minajs husband and brother, both of whom have been convicted of sexual crimes. While we have yet to hear a peep from the Canadian rapper, Minaj responded, albeit very poorly.

After what felt like a 24-hour-long Instagram Live tirade, Minaj released a track called Big Foot, a title that not only makes light of Tory Lanez shooting Megan Thee Stallion but ridicules and masculinizes the 510 Houston rapper. Moreover, Minaj invoked Megans late mother multiple times in the song; so much so that per TMZ, Minajs fans known as Barbz have reportedly leaked the location of the cemetery where Megans mother is buried. HuffPost reporter Mitchell provided a spot-on analysis of how the track further perpetuates misogynoir and, ultimately, how Minaj is tarnishing her own legacy.

As Barbz doxx those who speak ill of Minaj, a tried and true tactic of theirs, I have seen more people call out their unhinged behavior en masse and strike back, legally reporting them. But nonetheless, there are still some minions doing Minajs bidding, such as Vogue entertainment director Sergio Kletnoy. At his big age, Kletnoy was mocking Megan Thee Stallion in Nickis comments on Instagram Live. Then, Ben Shapiro yes, that annoyingly shrill conservative pundit Ben Shapiro chimed in. Lest we forget his reductive remarks on rap music.

Story continues

Desperate for supporters, Minaj congratulated the known bigot on his latest rap single. Remember when Issa Rae said, Im rooting for everybody Black at the 2017 Emmy Awards? Yeah, people like Minaj remind me why you cant take quotes, especially that one, out of context. Terms and conditions apply over here. Until then, Ill be waiting for stanning and stan behavior to find its rightful place in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

For more on the latest happenings this week, read up in this edition of The Culture Catchall.

Issa Rae is lifting the veil on how the entertainment industry approaches Black stories.

In a shocking development, after the release of her bombshell memoir, The Woman in Me, Britney Spears has seemingly publicly apologizedto Justin Timberlake. Following the performance of his single Selfish on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Spears reposted a video on Instagram of Fallon and Timberlakes latest skit, praising his new music. Candidly, I dont know if Id be as gracious to an ex-boyfriend especially not one who responds by apologizingto absolutely f**king nobody but that is why Britney is Britney.Find out what else Spears said from HuffPosts senior trends reporter Kelby Vera.

Media mogul Issa Rae is shedding light on how the entertainment industry has abandoned Black stories, despite lofty commitments to bolster diversity after 2020. Covering the January 2024 issue of PORTER, Rae spoke to author Otegha Uwagba about the recent cancellation of many Black television series, her intent to become a more independent creator, and much more. In a Time Magazine exclusive, after the bitter end of Rap Sh!t, Rae announced she is working on two new HBO shows, including one shell write and star in.

Elmo asked everyone how they were doing, and the internet trauma-dumped on him. Thats it, thats the tweet. On Monday, our favorite friendly red Muppet tweeted on X, formerly Twitter, Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing? Apparently, not well! Not well at all, dear. Hell, journalist Samus Malekafzali wrote, Elmo Im gonna be real I am at my fucking limit. HuffPosts Elyse Wanshel reported on some of the most brutally honest yet hilarious responses from this ordeal. *sighs* Bless Elmos heart.

Speaking of the internet, America, we have an AI problem which ex-Googler and Ethiopian-American Timnit Gebru has been calling out for ages. Last week, sexually explicit deepfakes of Taylor Swift, which were likely a product of AI, were widely circulated online. Since then, New York state congresswoman Rep. Yvette Clark (D) has called for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to find a solution to an issue that has affected thousands of women. HuffPosts Marita Vlachou reported the full details.

The future of TikTok is about to change. Universal Music Group, which represents artists including Taylor Swift, Drake, Adele, Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish, has not agreed to the terms of a new deal with TikTok and will be removing its music from the platform. The label claims that TikTok is not paying fair value for the music, while TikTok claims that Universal is acting in self-serving interests. Read more on the debacle here.

Keke Palmer is the latest Teen Vogue cover star.

To get complete industry news and the full entertainment newsletter in your inbox weekly, subscribe toThe Culture Catchall here.

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Nicki Minaj Is Cozying Up To Ben Shapiro And Its A Good Reminder For Us All - Yahoo Canada Sports

Two Northern California journalists got to the bottom of who was disrupting various city hall meetings with anti-semitic messages in Berkeley and Marin County. The neo-Nazis then started impersonating those journalists in the same meetings, and others across the country.

Some changes that the COVID-19 pandemic brought to our daily lives became permanent, like parklets. And it seemed for a while that government meetings across the country would keep the COVID-era Zoom calls and remote public comment by telephone in place. Many of them did, until racist Zoom-bombs of city hall and county meetings led to the end of public comment by call-in, here in San Francisco and beyond. According to a new article in today's Chronicle, a spokesperson for the California State Association of Counties said that all counties have experienced some level of disruption in public meetings.

That Chronicle article profiles two northern California journalists who started uncovering who was behind this Zoom-bombing. But once they did uncover the perpetrators, the far-right, antisemitic Zoom-bombers started impersonating those journalists at public meetings not only in the Bay Area, but all over the country. (And it should be noted that both of the journalists are Jewish).

The Chronicle spoke with Phil Barber of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and Gabe Stutman of the Jewish News of Northern California. Barber wrote a lengthy expos this past September on the callers whove been disrupting various northern California government meetings with racist outbursts with remote call-ins.

He traced it to a character whom the Chronicle describes as a failed rapper, Jon E. Minadeo II. Minadeo had co-founded an antisemitic streaming channel called Goyim TV (Goyim is a Hebrew term for non-Jewish people), and that channel promotes anti-Jewish conspiracy theories.

Just days after Barbers article was published, someone who was not Phil Barber of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat called in to a Novato City Council meeting claiming to be Phil Barber of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. That caller then claimed a local Jewish center would be screening a documentary blaming 9/11 on the Jews.

That meeting got even weirder from there, as the next nearly dozen callers were all alt-right Zoom-bombers. The next 11 callers are more explicit, as the Chronicle explains. Two impersonate rabbis and claim to engage in pedophilia. One pretends to be a transit advocate recommending Jewish people be put on trains. Another makes up a nonprofit that turns Jewish people into soap. Some callers think theyre being funny; others sound angry as they accuse the council of oppressing white people.

The Jewish News of Northern Californias Gabe Stutman has also done extensive reporting on Minadeos exploits. And someone claiming to be Stutman called in to an October 4 Berkeley City Council meeting and spewed antisemitic, racist slurs. Even more bizarrely, people claiming to be Stutman even called in to rant racist invective at an October 23 city council meeting in Seldovia, Alaska.

At that point I knew this was definitely a widespread phenomenon, Stutman told the Chronicle. I have no idea how frequently this is happening. But my guess is if its happening in Seldovia, Alaska its probably happening in a bunch of different places.

Many of these cities, like San Francisco, have just flat-out banned calling in to government meetings by phone. That may solve the Zoom-bomb problem, but not the larger problem of antisemitic trolling. And as Barber told the Chronicle, he almost certainly will be writing about it again.

Related: Racists Have Been Zoombombing Public Meetings Across US, and SF's Board of Supervisors May End Remote Commenting Entirely [SFist]

Image: Novato City Council

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Alt-Right Wackadoodles Now Impersonating the NorCal Journalists Who Exposed Their 'Zoom-Bombing' of City Meetings - SFist

New poll looks bad for Republicans. Then it gets worse

Apparently, the only thing worse than being a Republican in Congress is being a named battleground Republican in Congress.

The alt-right saw Taylor Swift as an 'Aryan goddess.' She shook them off as 'repulsive'

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Scandal-ridden Oregon Republican launches rematch for key House seat

Sure, he admitted to giving her $300 and accompanying her to a doctor, but the rest is unsubstantiated and untrue.

Elon Musk loses more money than anyone in historyagain

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House passes bill to helps millions, but Senate GOP doesn't want Biden to look good

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ICYMI: Trump loses in court again, and Taylor Swift broke their alt-right hearts - Daily Kos

Fox News hosts have been engaged in pushing out some prettyspecialconspiracy theories. The newest isthat the Super Bowl somehow has been rigged so that pop megastar Taylor Swift, who is dating Kansas City Chiefstight end Travis Kelce,will have a platform to endorse President Joe Bidens reelection campaign.

Fox host Jesse Waters even went so far as to suggest that the Pentagons psychological operations unit hasturned Swift into an asset. He said Swift could bea front for a covert political agenda.The Pentagon dismissed the accusation with a Swiftian song reference: As for this conspiracy theory, we are going to shake it off.

RELATED STORY:Fox News loses it over Taylor Swift

But there was at least one unexpected voice of reason in the Murdoch media empire:Fox Sports punditColin Cowherd,who on his show The Herd blasted those people who have a problem with Swift appearing on NFL broadcasts when she attends a game. He cited a New York Times report that found that Swift appeared on camera for only 32 seconds during the 3.5-hour broadcast of Sundays Ravens-Chiefs AFC Championship game17 seconds of which were devoted to an in-house promo for the networks upcoming broadcast of SundaysGrammy Awards.

Theres a lot of really weird, lonely, insecure men out there, Cowherd said. The fact that a pop starthe worlds biggest pop staris dating a star tight end who had one of his greatest games ever, and the network puts them on the air briefly, then it bothers you, what does that say about your life?

He then pointed out all the male celebrities whose presence at past sporting events has been celebratedsuch as Drake, Spike Lee, and Jack Nicholson. But a talented and beautiful woman is on the airone who would never pay attention to lonely menand it bothers them.

He added that there are a lot of men out there who have never had real intimacy with a woman and they are often misogynistic and resent women who didnt give them the time they think they deserve.

Its all quite ironic because some of these same weird, angry, insecure men back in 2016 were idolizing Swift as an Aryan goddess. In May 2016, Vice wrote:

Nazis and members of the "alt right"an Internet subculture that is best described as the venn diagram of hipster culture and white supremacyhave been spreading a conspiracy theory that Swift is a covert Nazi. They claim Swift's songs "red pilled" America into believing a conservative, racist agenda.

"Firstly, Taylor Swift is a pure Aryan goddess, like something out of classical Greek poetry. Athena reborn. That's the most important thing," explains Andre Anglin, the writer of the white supremacist blogthe Daily Stormer. "It is also an established fact that Taylor Swift is secretly a Nazi and is simply waiting for the time when Donald Trump makes it safe for her to come out and announce her Aryan agenda to the world. Probably, she will be betrothed to Trump's son, and they will be crowned American royalty."

Now all of this was nothing more than these neo-Nazi fanboys projecting their white supremacist views onto Swifts image. Swift, of course,had absolutely nothing to do with any white supremacist groups.The 19-year-old Swift revealed in a 2009 Rolling Stone interview that she supported President Barack Obama, saying, Ive never seen this country so happy about a political decision in my entire time of being alive. Im so glad this was my first election.

Vice saidSwifts lawyer, J. Douglas Baldridge, did send a threatening letter to Pinterest after one teenage girl posted memes attributing Adolf Hitler quotes to Swift tospoof memes that falsely attributed inspiring quotes to Marilyn Monroe. Baldridge wrote:

The association of Ms. Swift with Adolf Hitler undisputedly is 'harmful,' 'abusive,' 'ethnically offensive,' 'humiliating to other people,' 'libelous,' and no doubt 'otherwise objectionable.' It is of no import that Ms. Swift may be a public figure or that Pinterest conveniently now argues that the Offending Material is mere satire or parody. Public figures have rights. And, there are certain historical figures, such as Adolf Hitler, Charles Manson and the like, who are universally identified in the case law and popular culture as lightning rods for emotional and negative reaction.

At the time, Swift kept her political views to herself. In a 2012 interview,she told Time,Idont talk about politics because it might influence other people. And I dont think that I know enough yet in life to be telling people who to vote for. She did not make any endorsement in the 2016 presidential election.

In August 2017, The Daily Beast wrote immediately after the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that the time had come for Swift to denounce her neo-Nazi admirers who have claimed her as one of their own. The story concluded: Say it after me, TayTay: I, Taylor Swift, denounce Nazis. And I am not attracted to Eric Trump.

But then in October 2018, Swift obviously felt she knew enough to tell people who to vote for when she endorsed a candidate for the first time: Democrat Phil Bredesen, who was running against Republican Marsha Blackburn for Senate in Tennessee.

"As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn," Swift wrote on Instagram, addingthat "her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me."

And in the Netflix documentary Miss Americana, there is a revealing scene in which Swiftis shown discussing her decision to endorse Bredesen with her parents. Her father advises her that that she might lose a lot of fans.Thats what happened to country superstarsThe Chicks, then known as the Dixie Chicks, whenin 2003 lead singer Natalie Maines at a London concert said she was ashamed to be from the same state as President George W. Bush on the eve ofthe Iraq War. And Swifts mother said she was really worried about her daughters safetyif she madesuch an endorsement.

But Swift said she felt sad that she didnt speak out during the 2016 election, and told her parents that this time, I need to be on the right side of history.

It really is a big deal for me. She (Blackburn) votes against fair pay for women, she votes against reauthorization of the violence against women act which is just basically protecting us from domestic abuse, and stalking, stalking. She thinks that if youre a gay coupleor even if you look like a gay couple you should be allowed to be kicked out of a restaurant.

Its really basic human rights And I cant see another commercial and see her disguisingthese policies behind the words `Tennessee Christian values. Those arent Tennessee Christian values. I live in Tennessee. I am Christian. Thatsnot what we stand for. I need to do this. Dad, Ineed you to forgive me for doing it because Im doing it.

The scene closes with her father hugging her.

Then in a September 2019 Rolling Stone interview, Swift denounced white supremacists in no uncertain terms. She said:

Theres literally nothing worse than white supremacy. Its repulsive. There should be no place for it. Really, I keep trying to learn as much as I can about politics, and its become something Im now obsessed with, whereas before, I was living in this sort of political ambivalence, because the person I voted for had always won. We were in such an amazing time when Obama was president because foreign nations respected us. We were so excited to have this dignified person in the White House. My first election was voting for him when he made it into office, and then voting to re-elect him. I think a lot of people are like me, where they just didnt really know that this could happen. But Im just focused on the 2020 election. Im really focused on it. Im really focused on how I can help and not hinder.

InOctober 2020, Swift endorsed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Shespoke toV Magazinefor theirThought Leaders Issue and said:

The change we need most is to elect a president who recognizes that people of color deserve to feel safe and represented, that women deserve the right to choose what happens to their bodies, and that the LGBTQIA+ community deserves to be acknowledged and included. Everyone deserves a government that takes global health risks seriously and puts the lives of its people first. The only way we can begin to make things better is to choose leaders who are willing to face these issues and find ways to work through them.

I will proudly vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in this years presidential election. Under their leadership, I believe America has a chance to start the healing process it so desperately needs.

And now the woman who was once the alt-rights Aryan goddess is viewed by some of the same people as being under Satans influence as the conspiracy theories spread that the Super Bowl has been rigged so Swift can have a big stage to endorse Biden. Kandiss Taylor, an ultra-right Georgia Republican politician, wrote on X:

As a former Aryan goddess, you cant fall much farther than into the arms of aPfizer vaccine spokesman.

RELATED STORY:X pauses some Taylor Swift searches as deepfake explicit images spread

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The alt-right saw Taylor Swift as an 'Aryan goddess.' She shook them off as 'repulsive' - Daily Kos