My last research was definitely the most disturbing one – when it comes to me. I asked myself again: How much can the human mind actually erode and turn into its perverse opposite?
My last paper for Jane’s Intelligence Review is about “Incels escalate misogyny and far-right extremism online”.
The keypoints are:
- The online ‘Incel’ scene has connections to far-right extremism, which itself is often characterised by extreme misogyny.
- Mass shootings can frequently be tracked back to the Incel milieu,
with perpetrators glorified as heroes and revolutionaries in Incel
forums. - The Incel culture itself is typified by a virulent mix of adolescent
and far-right ideology, and in parts espouses terrorist tactics such as
the use of assault rifles, knives, explosives, and vans.
Right-wing extremist Stephan Balliet on 9 October 2019 violently tried
to gain access to a synagogue in the eastern German city of Halle,
intending to shoot as many Jewish worshippers as possible. Watching his livestream I came – again – across this rightwing imagination of feminism as a (liberal, jewish) conspiracy. Reading all the horrible postings and joking comments on his and other, similar shootings is hard to stand.
