Mediaboss Marketing

Culture Warlords: My Journey into the Dark Web of White Supremacy, by Talia Lavin, Hatchett Books, 2020, 288 pages.

Its uncommon for an author to get a visit from the FBI in the middle of promoting her book. In the few weeks since Talia Lavins Culture Warlords: My Journey Into the Dark Web of White Supremacy was released, to almost universal acclaim, the torrent of hate regularly directed at her kicked into overdrive.

This escalation could be because we are moving past a nightmare of an election season in which the Proud Boys, a fascist street gang, were standing by on the presidents orders, and Donald Trump is pushing his followers to violence by refusing to concede. Or it could simply be that Lavin is refusing to hold back. The book has brought the ire of white supremacists around the world, who are enraged that a Jewish queer woman had not only the intention, but also the ability to expose and ridicule them on a scale measurable in bestseller lists.

The book is the result of the same targeted hate that Lavin has received over the past several years, which brought with it doxxing, threats of sexual violence, and even a frightening postcard to her family bearing the Nazi slogan Blood and Soil. Inside the often white and male-dominated world of far-right journalism and research, there can be a certain cavalier (or worse, celebratory) attitude about the threatening response reporters get from fascists. For example, after I published an article on Augustus Sol Invictus, a fascist demagogue famous for pagan theatrics and eventually for assaulting his intimate partners, he declared me his worthy adversary and demanded we share breakfast at a Panera Bread. And despite the extensive personal safety measures I have had to take in response to threats, I still often get framed by neo-Nazis as their opponent rather than their scourge. That is not the response Lavin gets.

I had a friend who engages in actifascist activism say that he felt that white supremacists treated him with a sort of Batman vs. the Joker kind of attitude, Lavin has reflected. I dont even get to be Poison Ivy. Im just literally the plant poison ivy. A rash that they want to eliminate. Theres no sense of being a worthy opponent, theres just someone to destroy.

Lavins experience of the most vitriolic misogyny is at the core of Culture Warlords, and, to a degree, one of the catalysts of this latest generation of fascism, birthed in the reactionary world of internet memes and anonymous rage.

Culture Warlords is a book about the internet from someone who is steeped in online culture. Lavin focused her research on the type of white nationalist social networking that was only possible in the era of decentralized, web 2.0 platforms such as Telegram, or whites only dating sites. She jumped into the center of this ecosystem, posing as the perfect trad wife, a white nationalist term for a traditional housewife, to string along a Ukrainian white nationalist and pass his information over to Bellingcat, an outlet known for crowd-funding research.

Adopting this approach enabled Lavin not only to collect white nationalist publications and research organizational intersections and ideological convergences, but also to talk to actual people. And it was this process that led her to reject dispassionate analysis of white nationalism, since faux neutrality underplays its threat and impact.

Beyond a captivating narrative, Culture Warlords also contains a piercing analysis of what insurgent fascism looks like and where it comes from. Its politics are centered on an explosive anti-Blackness built into the foundations of Western colonialism, which motivates the revolutionary energy of those who cannot wait to eradicate non-whiteness.

The cover of Culture Warlords: My Journey into the Dark Web of White Supremacy, a non-fiction book by Talia Lavin published in 2020 by Hachette Books.

Antisemitism, too, is an ideological linchpin that lends a kind of coherence no matter how delusional to white nationalist ideology, writes Lavin. In this worldview, Jews are proposed as the masterminds of a plan to erase whiteness from the earth, given that white supremacists believe people of color to be incapable of doing so for themselves. White nationalists claim Jews are responsible for Globohomo, all things wrought by degenerate liberalism, from queerness to feminism to individuality. This story is matched by Lavins own experience of Jewishness as conditional white privilege, a status made uneasy by the specter of antisemitism.

The white nationalist hatred for women and gender non-conforming people, which is particularly aggressive online, is a seething rage that Lavin links to the inverse treatment of white womanhood in fascist narratives: as pure, untainted progenitors of the race.

This was a culture born from the sticky, tarry, concentrated misogyny of the internet, the hatred of women expanded into all the hatreds white supremacy claims as its own, writes Lavin. Misogyny was a natural outcome of indoctrination into white supremacy, which sees women purely as vessels for breeding.

The violation of that role, when women refuse to be submissive vessels of social reproduction, is where the white nationalist system starts to break down. Controlling women is an essential piece that their entire image of white empire is founded on meaning women who challenge that model are dangerous subversives. And since, according to white nationalists, one of the greatest dangers posed by Jews is that they appear to be white but are, in fact, not, a Jewish woman spreading ideas about liberation is a particularly pernicious treason.

Alt-right members preparing to enter Emancipation Park holding Nazi and Confederate flags before the Unite the Right rally, Charlottesville, Virginia, August 12, 2017. (Anthony Crider/CC BY 2.0)

Another thing that sets Culture Warlords apart is the fact that its author is an unapologetic partisan. As right-wing media performers increasingly goad mainstream news outlets into a bastardized doctrine of fairness that normalizes white nationalism and authoritarianism, it is notable to see a book that avoids contrived neutrality over issues that do not merit it. It is correct, for example, to universally oppose the imprisonment of children in concentration camps, or to see attacks on Black Lives Matter protesters as wrong, or to denounce police murder.

Lavin takes this one step further, past condemnation and argumentation and into disruption. When Lavin joined the white nationalist dating site, where she got men to write her letters to their future wives, she was not engaging in analysis, biting reporting, or witty insult. She was embarking on a larger project of dismantlement and confrontation in order to close up shop on white supremacists.

Lavin has made this distinction clearly, and says that she and her fellow travelers make each other safe, rather than rely on the carceral state or the FBI to protect them. What makes the book that much more impactful is that the surrounding threat of violence that Lavin experienced never stopped her from continuing the work, because losing the fight against white nationalism would have such an astronomical cost.

Thus, even as the threats continued through Lavins book promotion, and as she faced antisemitic harassment on Instagram, she turned the tables. Joe Mercurio, an active duty marine, trolled Lavin with well-worn blood libels and Lavin struck back immediately, outing his military status and his clear neo-Nazi ideological ties. He is now under investigation a clear win in Lavins approach of pushing back on far-right trolls reliance on their anonymity in order to single out, harass, and victimize people.

Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a campaign rally at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona, October 16, 2016 (Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 2.0)

There is a reason, beyond its brilliant prose and modeling of antifascist activism, that Culture Warlords should be a cultural touchstone: it embodies, and reflects, the heat of the anger so many of us are living with in this political moment. We move around in an online world, even more so due to the pandemic, which is increasingly defined by a rising tide of radicalizing white supremacy.

Its an old cliche that lovers shouldnt go to bed angry; well, for the past year I have gone to bed with my anger and woken up with my anger and gone about my day with my anger hot and wet like blood in my mouth, writes Lavin. We are all living in some experience of shared trauma, a constant deluge of anger mixed with fear as we make sense of the threatening present we are living through.

There is no reason to think that the threat of insurgent white nationalism will shrink in the weeks past this crisis of an election season, and so the book is going to stay just as relevant as it is right at this moment. What makes Culture Warlords the best book of the year is that it moves the experience of the violence inflicted on Lavin and others in her position beyond simple tragedy and reframes it through the eyes of resistance. This is not just the resistance of antifascists in chat rooms and on the streets (though it is unapologetically that as well), but in the refusal to give up the things we think the world is trying to take from us.

See original here:
Disrupting the dark web of white supremacy - +972 Magazine

November 11, 2020

Fox News won the ratings war in the US election hands down. But its candidate lost, even if that is taking a while to sink in. Ironically, Foxs statisticians were the first to call the poll for Biden, something that has brought them condemnation from the stations headbanger Alt-Right poster boys who are wildly popular with its audience and have been made wildly wealthy by the station.

Approaching his 90th year, Rupert Murdoch might have thought he couldnt face a new kind of problem; how do you steer a rabid product that has served its purpose back towards the mainstream now that its cause celebre has gone? And how do you do it without shedding its audience of unreconcilables. Particularly as Mr Trump, as he will soon be, seems likely to bring a new TV channel to market to the right of Fox. Perhaps the character of Fox will naturally evolve as some of its unreformable anchors jump ship to Trump TV. Mind you, well as they would know their new boss, they might be rather worried about their maga (I mean mega) wages being paid.

Since the departure of Roger Ailes first from Fox for sex assaults, then from the mortal coil Fox has been leaderless and somewhat out of control, as can been seen by the rats in a sack infighting now. The election of Biden is a time for Murdoch managers to get it reined back in and go for a refresh. Hes already doing it for his newspapers with the New York Post suddenly seeming sane and reasonable, just as he has done it before with The Sun in the UK.

Murdoch wants to make governments in order they owe him something. He prefers they are right-wing, but he doesnt mind going off-piste; see Tony Blair. The important thing is he is on the inside, or at least onside.

And, at least hes pretty open about. Its a you might not like me but at least I stab you in the front kind of attitude. Sadly, despite undoubtedly being a fan of journalism, Murdochs strained relationship with the truth has recently seemed to break down altogether. But he is still a publisher and broadcaster and so has some fundamental legal constraints on him. Unlike, say, the Russians, or Facebook, for example.

Read the original here:
FOX will find another of its faces | - Advanced Television

It seems at last that the cruelties committed on the U.S.-Mexico border, especially those involving the separation offamilies and children, may have taken their toll on the President with the loss of a small margin of undecided voters that couldve decided a tight outcome.

The latest outrage is in, no surprise, a scenario where conspiracies like QAnon and crypto-fascist speeches coexist for one of Donald Trump's most alt-right advisors.Californian Stephen Millerchooses to add fuel to the fire with obscene predictions of a second term where all kinds of border measures will be intensified.

In a telephone interview for NBC News, Miller said that they would limit asylum permits and persecute "sanctuary cities" by expanding visitation limits. His goal would be, plain and simple, to increase any criteria that would ensure the U.S.'s impermeability.

The main fear that such electoral measures provoke is that they may require a new legal apparatus, which excludes some of those already living and working in the United States. They're also legal changes that are especially challenging to undo later and a jigsaw for future governments.

Rolling Stone reportedthat to date, 400,000 people have been forced to leave the U.S.,2,654 children have been taken from their families, and more than half a million people have been left in legal limbo. It is also very pertinentto mention, as VICEreported, the hundreds of cases of racism and eugenics that occurred in the ICE facilities.

Miller's promises work both as propaganda and as fuel for his alt-right followers who have taken the streets in recentdays over the election results. The most progressive sectors have screamed blue murder from the very same moment some media planners appeared. Still, in political terms, they were never their audience, so they lived proudly with the fury of adversaries that gave them screentime. But there is a small margin of the population that changestheir supportfrom one election to the next.These are the voters most-targeted by presidentialcampaigns. It's not only the campaigns that change their vote, but also the actions of administrations. Under President Trump, terrible, inhumane treatmentof children at the borderrecently exposed again in Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump and the White Nationalist Agenda (Jean Guerrero, 2020), are actions that havenot goneunnoticed.

However, this lack of solidarity has been a considerable burden on his image for the small margin of undecided and independent voters, as a poll published by Public Opinion Strategies revealed. Among all this tangle of Machiavellian proposals, the most serious red line for up to 65% of those polled, especially for men and women from suburban areas, is the separation of families on the U.S.-Mexico border.

It seems like, in the end, their alt-right advisors and actions turned out to be little Icarus who ended up burning themselves with such fateful predictions, making a small margin of voters make the difference.

Original post:
How did the Trump administration's immigration policies impact election results? - AL DIA News

As the electoral drama unfolded on the evening of November 3, the nation held its breath. Civil society groups prepared for turmoil, journalists for rapid response and tech companies to stem the spread of disinformation.

In the early hours of the morning, the networked factions that back President Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpFeds charge Staten Island man over threat to Schumer, FBI Pence cancels vacation in Florida: report Romney shoots down serving in Biden Cabinet MORE disparate groups united by their support of the president applauded his premature declaration of victory. Some turned to conspiracy theorists, operating in hives online, to make sense of the unfolding turmoil. Then they amplified the misinformation created in these spaces.

One group associated with such conspiracy theories is QAnon, which has contributed to the spread of misinformation in the 2020 election. The QAnon movement is centered around an individual (or group), referred to as Q, who claims to be part of a secret U.S. intelligence operation, disseminating esoteric propaganda to encourage support for Trumps imaginary crusade against forces of the so-called deep state. It originated from the 4chan, migrated to 8chan, then found a home on 8kun, which are message boards designed to share memes and anime not foster extremism. But their characteristics made them attractive homes for groups ranging from the hacktivistAnonymous collective, the reactionary Gamergate movement to white supremacist terror. They also have been a home for anti-democratic speech and celebrating political violence.

The growth of the QAnon conspiracy is the work of media manipulation by a small group of motivated actors, who move the storyline along across networked platforms. Like networked social movements that have used the internet as an advocacy platform, QAnon followers have managed to create a resilient cross-platform ecosystem of content and influencers that has shuttled misinformation across its various hubs for the last three years. Eventually Trump, who QAnon followers largely support, acknowledged and tacitly defended the conspiracy. As 2020 has shown us, political representation is on the horizon several Q candidates were on ballots across the country, including Marjorie Greene, who won a seat in the House, and Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), who is facing a runoff election to retain her seat in the U.S. Senate.

In 2020, the limited data we have from polling and critical reporting suggests millions are now aware of and may be on board with this movement. QAnon has become a fully networked conspiracy complex with numerous entry points for new followers, such as breaking news events, celebrity gossip and political intrigue. The movement uses pseudonymity to avoid attribution on social media, distributed amplification to quickly spread disinformation and fostered by fringe alt tech platforms like 8kun and Gab. Sheltered by these platforms known to harbor extremist groups, QAnon punches well above its weight, affecting our media, democratic institutions and public health.

While QAnon is not the alt-right, both movements grew in the same places. QAnon first came to popular attention when its supporters became visible at Trump rallies, and it spread globally during COVID-19 lockdowns. Steeped in ancient antisemitic tropes, QAnon members engage in misguided research, networked harassment of politicians and blind support for Trump. They are not the originators of these conspiracy theories, but the amplifiers often look to Trump himself for tacit recognition, and they rely on social media to grow their ranks.

Social institutions around the world are struggling with anti-democratic movements weaponizing social media. A few people can rapidly deploy disinformation across networks to deadly results QAnon was initially spread by three conspiracy influencers before it was taken up on large platforms. This network of influence is much like fandoms, and mimics the form of activist groups. We see how these methods were used to deadly effect by white nationalists.

After Charlottesville in 2017, platforms finally removed many of the extremists who used their systems to organize the deadly Unite the Right Rally. QAnon, unlike the alt-right before it, is not focused on ethnonationalism, but rather the acceleration of civic decay in the form of political and medical disinformation, including vaccine hesitancy. While the vast majority of QAnon influencers and believers do not advocate violence, some have taken matters into their own hands.

Just as QAnon co-opted the fight against human trafficking with the #savethechildren hashtag, the movement isnt bound to the 2020 elections. On their dock now is Agenda 21, the belief global leaders are plotting a depopulation genocide to favor elites.

How are platforms responsible

The manipulation of social media by unknown actors fundamentally disrupts democratic communication. This lack of identity leads to lack of attribution, leaving our political communication in the so-called new public square of social media vulnerable to both domestic and foreign interference. As power and wealth is consolidated around these platforms, they show us time and time again they are unable to successfully mitigate these campaigns. Now, as we see the impact on electoral politics, we must consider the true cost of disinformation and brace for its continual impact on our democractic institutions long past the elections. Internal leaks from facebook suggest the movement was allowed to grow, unfettered, for far too long despite internal concern.

In the chaos that exists between breaking news and verified information, disinformation thrives. Most recently, two individuals associated with the QAnon movement were arrested in Philadelphia for an alleged plot to attack the site of ballot counting. As liberals call for regulation, and conservatives rally around the abolition of Section 230, which governs liability on platforms, we cannot lose sight of what is at stake. Coalitions, like Change the Terms, have long worked to hold platforms accountable by creating model policies on hate speech. While debates about content moderation are about QAnon and Trump right now, it will not always be. The enduring influence of QAnon on political communication is a symptom of how social media platforms remain unable to adapt to evolving use cases, and the only way to counter it is to recalibrate how platforms moderate content, especially conspiracy and medical misinformation.

Brian Friedberg is a senior researcher of the Technology and Social Change Research Project at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. Merging academic methods and Open Source Intelligence techniques, he is an investigative ethnographer, focusing on the impacts alternative media, anonymous communities and unpopular cultures have on political communication and organization.

See the rest here:
QAnon proves internet companies aren't up to the task of defending democracy | TheHill - The Hill

Opponents of an Auckland art exhibition which featured neo-Nazi flags and symbols of white nationalism have received an apology from one of the exhibition's co-facilitators, but say it doesn't go far enough.

The exhibition by Mercy Pictures gallery closed last week, but has come under intense scrutiny by locals and activist group Tmaki Anti-Fascist Action who believe the display, which did not include context or justification, was deeply hurtful.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the group said many of the images used were clearly symbols of oppression, disguised as art.

"We were profoundly troubled by its extensive and uncritical use of neo-Nazi symbols, which is a form of platforming their ideology. We've found this especially frustrating when we and other community groups have put in so much effort to deplatform fascists before and following the Christchurch massacre," they said.

"In addition, we were deeply concerned that the exhibition's introduction was written by British transphobe Nina Power who has also collaborated with the alt-right, as a form of platforming her transphobic and alt-right ideology."

The group was also concerned that neo-Nazi symbols were displayed alongside the Tino Rangatiratanga and Ngi Thoe flags, without permission from tangata whenua.

"I would like to sincerely apologise for the harm and re-traumatisation brought about by the exhibition I played a part in putting together ... I deeply regret the way Mercy Pictures has responded to criticism and the pain that this show has bought about. It was irresponsible of me to assume these symbols and our action in displaying could deny their meanings and histories to extended communities," he said in an open letter.

"I regret in the strongest way possible the display of images and symbols related to terrible violence inflicted upon marginalised communities in the name of art. I recognise now this was a form of platforming fascist symbols. I apologise whole-heartedly for any detraction from the strength, mana and resilience of those people and for any pain that the exhibition caused them."

He also acknowledged that he would not work with Nina Power in the future, and said he would meet with the communities he had harmed face-to-face.

An open letter is circulating online to condemn the exhibition, and demand an apology from the entire company.

The letter also calls for the company to refuse to work with Nina Power in the future, no longer platform fascist and other far-right figures, and to apologise to tangata whenua for displaying their flags without permission.

Mercy Pictures is expected to release a statement.

See more here:
'We have put in so much effort to deplatform fascists before and following the Christchurch massacre' - Otago Daily Times