Tracking White Nationalists

As the media hype behind the radicalization of domestic terrorists begins to die down, we must be vigilant and maintain focus on their tactics and their propaganda machine. While 8Chan may have disappeared (for now), they have many more sandboxes to play in and recruit young Americans as they continue their hateful rhetoric and calls to action.

As most of America celebrates the shut-down of 8Chan, far-right extremists remain very active online. Losing a single imageboard website is a mere bump in the road for them. It certainly hasn’t slowed them down as they continue to operate on the overabundance of anonymous websites.

For now, their main focus has shifted. The top-ranked discussions on the message boards at Stormfront were focused on concealing identities while on the web. Andrew Anglin, of the Daily Stormer, put out a call for websites who promote hate to begin hosting their websites on the dark web - but voiced some concerns about readership. In other words, they want to try and hide but they know that doing so will stifle their recruitment numbers, drastically limit their reach, and cut into their funding.

National security experts have recently expressed similar concerns about publicly exposing online domestic terrorist networks. Many argue the unwanted attention will drive them into dark corners of the internet. While that may be the case for some, the vast majority will be no more difficult to find than they are now — regardless of where they go. They seek notoriety and are routinely found on public-facing websites. Exposing themselves to be seen as heroes to their chosen cause.

Many other imageboard websites have experienced large influxes of 8Chan users. The man who committed the attack on a Mosque in Oslo, Norway, posted messages online on EndChan prior to the incident.

EndChan issued a statement via Twitter confirming that messages, images, and a link to a Facebook live stream were posted by someone claiming to be the Norwegian gunman, which were removed by moderators. The statement went on to say that the alleged shooter is “not representative of our regular user base” and that they have had no similar incidents in the past. EndChan has been online since 2015.

In addition to EndChan, other public-facing websites and apps have been home to extremists. Recently, Justin Olsen, an 18-year-old man from Ohio who was arrested and charged with threatening a federal officer, posted extensively about mass-shootings targeting Planned Parenthood on the imageboard app iFunny. As he gained notoriety with his meme-blog, he set-up a private Discord chat server to interact with his followers — a commonality among terrorists and members of radicalized groups.

Hate groups are also very public about the radicalization of American citizens. Patriot Front, a spinoff from the hate-group that organized the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, has been publicly active in North Texas. They have recently been more vocal about their activism as they are reportedly preparing actions all over Dallas in the coming week. Their plans include the use of AirBnBs in McKinney, Texas, just outside of Dallas as rally points.

It is also rumored that other hate groups, such as the American Identity Movement (AIM) are expected to join them for “some great food, see good friends from other AIM Chapters, and execute some high-quality activism in the Great State of Texas.” In order to participate in the events, white nationalists have to buy a ticket. The post, which was shared on a private chat server hosted by Amazon, indicates that “Tickets will include a few meals and lodging as indicated,” then goes on to note that tickets are $40, but “Tickets & Lodging at AirBnB” are $100.

Spikes In Activity

Nothing about the recent mass-shootings appears to have slowed the white nationalist movement down. Instead, they’ve become even more emboldened. There are very few places for them to hide online, and most of them are not concerned with hiding. They are more interested in the clout they receive for being edgy. The more provocative they are the better it is for them because they’ve monetized hate.

For lack of a better term, these guys are hate influencers.

What national security experts are failing to address is the public nature of white nationalist groups. As with any other terrorist organization, they need financing and attention. Needs that force them to use public-facing websites, forums, and payment-systems. Without these tools, they can not coordinate as they would be unknown to those who seek them out. In most cases, all they do is change their language while still hiding in plain sight.

We witnessed a surge in activity promptly after the shooting in El Paso, as we have with other mass shootings. The white nationalist alternative to Twitter, Gab, capitalized on both the El Paso shooting and the shutdown of 8Chan. Successfully drumming up new members via Twitter by highlighting the perceived Silicon Valley bias against “conservative views.” Their targets included Eric Trump — after he began following Gab’s official Twitter account.

Gab is arguably the biggest success story behind monetizing hate. They’ve introduced such services as Dissenter, a browser extension that allows users to comment on social media and news sites with virtual anonymity. And since Gab operates on the right side of the law (mostly), there’s not much that can be done to shut them down as they continue promoting hate speech and white nationalist ideologies.

The recruiting tactics of hate-groups require them to expose themselves. The primary targets of their recruitment efforts are white teenaged boys and girls. Beginning on websites where memes are widely shared. They start with subtle racist memes that are seemingly innocuous in nature, gradually stepping it up to full-blown racist messaging. In some cases leading to domestic terrorism. This tactic is largely responsible for the normalization of hate we now see in the United States. Particularly among young white men and women.

The groups that use these tactics insist their European ancestors conquered America, and that people of color, including Latino immigrants, are a threat to the white race. The same words were echoed by the El Paso gunman who murdered 22 people with an assault rifle in a Walmart, and Donald Trump himself. His rhetoric validates this ideology.

All of this language stems from conspiracy theories that revolve around White Extinction and the Great Replacement. Both are based on the belief that there is a deliberate plot, blamed on Jews, Blacks, Latinos or Muslims, to promote miscegenation, mass-immigration, racial-integration, low fertility rates, abortion, governmental land-confiscation, organized violence, and eliminationism in supposedly white-founded countries — in order to cause the extinction of whites through forced assimilation and violent genocide.

White Genocide (or White Extinction) is a myth. But it’s one that Stephen Miller and Donald Trump are knowingly exploiting to sow discord with the use of anti-immigrant rhetoric that is rooted in the theory that white people are under siege. When Trump uses such words as invasion, he doesn’t just validate these claims, he also shows allegiance with those who promote these beliefs.

“It’s like an invasion. They have violently overrun the Mexican border. You saw that two days ago. These are tough people, in many cases. A lot of young men, strong men. And a lot of men that maybe we don’t want in our country.” — Donald Trump

While there is no evidence that white people are dying out; or that they will die out; or that anyone is trying to exterminate them as a race; the purpose of the conspiracy theory is to scare white people into justifying a commitment to a white nationalist agenda in support of increasingly successful calls to violence. Many white conservative voters have been duped into believing this ideology for decades.

The modern-day theory of white genocide was popularized by convicted felon and neo-Nazi, David Lane, around 1995. It was adopted from similar conspiracy theories that were part of the discourse in Nazi Germany and exemplified in a pamphlet titled: “Are the White Nations Dying? The Future of the White and the Colored Nations in the Light of Biological Statistics.” These theories are mythical cautionary tales that have historically been used to justify maintaining white supremacy.

Despite the nonsensical fables, white nationalists have been quite successful in spreading their messages of fear and hate. The tactics they use make them particularly influential among teenagers and young adults across the country. It should behoove parents, particularly with such increases in activity, to pay attention to what kids are doing online. And, more importantly, talk to them about the history of racism in America.