Analysis of leading Far Right groups in Europe suggests the threat of using misinformation to exploit the global health crisis is overplayed.
Research published in the ICCT the Hague and conducted at the European University Institute, Florence, has revealed a more complex picture, whereby some Far Right groups are more likely to engage in ‘resilience-building’ activities than spread misinformation. The findings question not just the commentary of observers, but core ideas about Combating Violent Extremism (CVE) in the COVID-19 era.
Framing in times of crisis: Responses to COVID-19 amongst Far Right movements and organisations, is an examination of statements on Telegram from six European Far Right groups: Generation Identity in France and Germany (Génération Identitaire & Identitäre Bewegung); the Hundred Handers, a loose British-focused organisation; the neo-fascist Nordic Resistance Movement; CasaPound Italia; and the British National Socialist Movement. These are some of the most visible European groups and form part of two major strands of the current Far Right – ‘Identitarianism’ and neo-Fascism.
