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.
