Hate propaganda spread through neo-Nazi icons and memes
For white nationalist groups, iconography is a critical means of communication. In many respects, a single symbol - from the swastika of Nazi Germany to the letters A" and C" - can express purpose, motivation and meaning more effectively than an essay.
Those who study the bewildering array of symbols, phrases, internet memes used by white nationalists say they are also a way to express themselves in public while also providing cover to deny their true intentions.
Symbols are incredibly important from the get-go because having a symbol that is used for multiple things, while being used for one specific thing, gives anyone in the movement plausible deniability," said Dan Collen, extremist researcher and co-found of Hatepedia.ca, an online educational archive of hate symbols used in Canada.
Take the Celtic cross for instance, said Collen. The cross laid over a circle - used in March on a flag by Hamilton neo-Nazis during a banner wave over the Red Hill Valley Parkway - is a very common icon used in white nationalist circles. But unlike the Nazi swastika, it has other uses and meanings.
The Celtic cross is also used by many non-hateful movements," Collen said. It is still used in many churches and as a symbol of Irish Catholic pride."
Online, where white nationalists are building overlapping networks of followers, iconography is a shorthand vector to quickly spread their message.
In past generations, a hate group had to go through a strenuous process of printing and design process, and images had to be sent out in a specific way," Collen said. The digital era makes that much easier because sharing images on social media is just that much easier."
Images, whether they are icons or memes - akin to single panel cartoons of past generations - are also harder to moderate than text posts, which allows the propaganda to live longer on social media and potentially reach more people.
Hatepedia was launched to provide the public with access to the way hate symbols and messages are used in Canada similar to the database published by the American Anti-Defamation League so the Canadian public will understand what those symbols are when they encounter them.
In March, the website published an analysis of hate memes used across an array of platforms to help users understand what they might be looking at in their social media feeds.
The report can be found at the Hatepedia website.
Hate symbols and terms
There is a long list of symbols, phrases and memes used by white nationalists. The following symbols and terms, catalogued by Hatepedia and the Anti-Defamation League, are those common used by groups in Ontario and across the White Lives Matters network on Telegram:
Celtic cross
A longtime symbol of white nationalists dating back to the 1930s, infamously used by Stormfront, a white nationalist website founded in the mid-1990s. It also reflects the overlap between white nationalist and extremist versions of Christianity.
However, while often used by white nationalists, experts say it is also used by other groups and its usage is not exclusively hateful.
Fasce
An image of a bundle of sticks wrapped around an axe, the fasce was an ancient Roman symbol later used an icon of an Italian fascist group created by Benito Mussolini before his rise to power. It is commonly paired with an eagle in white nationalist propaganda.
Sonnerad/Black Sun
A popular icon in white nationalist circles, once appropriated by Nazi Germany from old Norse symbols.
13/AC
The No. 13 is frequently used in group names and white nationalist iconography. It often refers to the first and third letter of the English alphabet. The letters AC can mean active club," or anti-Communist" as well as Aryan circle," a violent American neo-Nazi prison gang venerated in white nationalist networks.
Active club
A mainstay of modern white nationalist groups, active clubs are real-word groups of neo-Nazis. Alongside white nationalist ideology, they focus on fitness and combat sport training, and promise a community for those who join. The pull of belonging can be particularly attractive to disaffected people, particularly young men, experts say.
Often, logos for active clubs contain symbols to indicate their anti-Communist, anti-drugs, pro-fitness and pro-combat sport focus.
George Lincoln Rockwell
A photo of Rockwell, the slain leader of the American Nazi Party in the 1960s, often appears on white nationalist posters, include those posted by Hamilton's Nationalist-13. Although killed by another neo-Nazi in 1967, he continues to be venerated as a cult figure in white nationalist circles.
Totenkopf death's head
A skull similar to the Jolly Roger, the totenkopf was an icon of the Nazi SS in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. On Telegram, the icon is often added to photos to conceal the faces of white nationalists.
White Lives Matters/White Pride/White Unity
Adopted as a mocking counterpoint to the Black rights movement, Black Lives Matter, White Lives Matter has become the name of the Telegram network that acts as a hub for neo-Nazis on social media. It is often paired by slogans that say White Pride" or White Unity" to express a canard that white people are under assault.
Grant LaFleche is an investigative reporter with The Spectator. Reach him via email: glafleche@torstar.ca