Mobilising Extremism in Times of Change: Analysing the UK’s Far-Right Online Content During the Pandemic
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11230%2F23%3A10464698" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11230/23:10464698 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
<a href="https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=CYrNLl3KYg" target="_blank" >https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=CYrNLl3KYg</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10610-023-09547-9" target="_blank" >10.1007/s10610-023-09547-9</a>
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
Mobilising Extremism in Times of Change: Analysing the UK’s Far-Right Online Content During the Pandemic
Original language description
The growing dissension towards the political handling of COVID-19, widespread job losses, backlash to extended lockdowns, and hesitancy surrounding the vaccine are propagating toxic far-right discourses in the UK. Moreover, the public is increasingly reliant on different social media platforms, including a growing number of participants on the far-right's fringe online networks, for all pandemic-related news and interactions. Therefore, with the proliferation of harmful far-right narratives and the public's reliance on these platforms for socialising, the pandemic environment is a breeding ground for radical ideologically-based mobilisation and social fragmentation. However, there remains a gap in understanding how these far-right online communities, during the pandemic, utilise societal insecurities to attract candidates, maintain viewership, and form a collective on social media platforms. The article aims to better understand online far-right mobilisation by examining, via a mixed-methodology qualitative content analysis and netnography, UK-centric content, narratives, and key political figures on the fringe platform, Gab. Through the dual-qualitative coding and analyses of 925 trending posts, the research outlines the platform's hate-filled media and the toxic nature of its communications. Moreover, the findings illustrate the far-right's online discursive dynamics, showcasing the dependence on Michael Hogg's uncertainty-identity mechanisms in the community's exploitation of societal insecurity. From these results, I propose a far-right mobilisation model termed Collective Anxiety, which illustrates that toxic communication is the foundation for the community's maintenance and recruitment. These observations set a precedent for hate-filled discourse on the platform and consequently have widespread policy implications that need addressing.
Czech name
—
Czech description
—
Classification
Type
J<sub>imp</sub> - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
CEP classification
—
OECD FORD branch
50501 - Law
Result continuities
Project
—
Continuities
S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach<br>I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace
Others
Publication year
2023
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Name of the periodical
European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research
ISSN
0928-1371
e-ISSN
1572-9869
Volume of the periodical
29
Issue of the periodical within the volume
3
Country of publishing house
NL - THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS
Number of pages
23
Pages from-to
355-377
UT code for WoS article
000998300000001
EID of the result in the Scopus database
2-s2.0-85160645819