There and Back Again: How White Nationalist Ephemera Travels Between Online and Offline Spaces

Racist flyers and posters have a long history in the US. In recent years, these ephemeral pieces of propaganda have been coordinated and amplified through the use of the internet and social media. In a vicious circle, racist flyers are propagated online, then printed by activists and distributed off...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe RUSI journal Vol. 165; no. 1; pp. 114 - 129
Main Authors Berger, J M, Aryaeinejad, Kateira, Looney, Seán
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Routledge 02.01.2020
Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies
Subjects
Amplification
Digital media
Racism
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Summary:Racist flyers and posters have a long history in the US. In recent years, these ephemeral pieces of propaganda have been coordinated and amplified through the use of the internet and social media. In a vicious circle, racist flyers are propagated online, then printed by activists and distributed offline. After distribution, photos and other documentation of the flyer drops are then posted online in order to amplify their message and inspire further drops. J M Berger, Kateira Aryaeinejad and Seán Looney examine the patterns of racist flyer content and distribution in 2018, including the coordination of posting activity online and the content of flyers. The article draws on a dataset of flyer drops created by the Anti-Defamation League, which was enriched by the authors for content and analysis of online/offline connections.
ISSN:0307-1847
1744-0378
DOI:10.1080/03071847.2020.1734322