This report is the second in a series of short reports of user journeys of individuals in extremist communities. The selected communities include formal and well‐defined extremist organisations, beginning with White supremacist and anti‐government extremist groups in the United States. This overview provides a snapshot of the current operating behaviours that the public can readily access, including acting as the first sites of exposure to extremist content.
White supremacist and anti‐government groups in the US are adept at manipulating events and societal developments, usually for the purposes of radicalisation, recruitment and offline mobilisation of the public, as part of their core ideological narrative. It is worth noting that these narratives are prevalent in both their online and offline activities. This report highlights their characteristics, platform use, violence and attacks, and gendered dimensions.
The study uses a repository of current and historical data on the social media activity of extremist groups, conspiracy movements and disinformation. Through big data collection and ethnographic monitoring of more than 600 channels and groups, we analysed the interconnectedness of the following White supremacist and anti‐government extremist groups: White Lives Matter (WLM), Patriot Front, Proud Boys, Aryan Freedom Network and Nationalist Social Club‐131 (NSC‐131).
Some of the key findings from this report, which focuses on White supremacist and anti‐government extremist groups, are as follows:
WLM, Patriot Front and Proud Boys among others continue to engage in offline ideologically motivated activities in the US and in some cases abroad, while maintaining a prominent presence online.
These groups mostly manipulate events and social developments for the purposes of fostering radicalisation, recruitment and offline mobilisation.
Telegram is their most preferred platform, through which they share propaganda.
Some of these groups have female members and a few purport to allow women in their organisations, while every group promotes neo‐traditionalism which subjugates women. The activities of these groups continue to pose a threat to society given the ideological narratives that underpin them.