Mobilising Extremism in Times of Change: Analysing the UK's Far-Right Online Content During the Pandemic
Abstract
The growing dissension towards the political handling of COVID-19, widespread job losses, backlash to extended lockdowns, and hesitancy surrounding the vaccine is propagating toxic far-right discourses. Moreover, the public is increasingly reliant on social media for all pandemic-related news and related interactions.
Therefore, with the expansion of harmful far-right narratives across social media and the public's confinement and reliance on these platforms for socialising, the current pandemic environment is a breeding ground for radical ideologically-based mobilisation and social fragmentation. However, we know little about 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 provide a potential answer to current online far-right mobilisation by examining, via a mixed-methodology between 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 content and the toxic nature of its communications.
Moreover, the findings illustrate the narrational dynamics of the platform, showcasing the dependence on Michael Hogg's uncertainty-identity mechanisms in the community's exploitation of societal insecurity. From these findings, 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.