Research Article

An analysis of social media content shared by right-wing extremist groups in the United States, the Great Britain and Australia

Number: 64 July 28, 2023
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An analysis of social media content shared by right-wing extremist groups in the United States, the Great Britain and Australia

Abstract

The extreme right movements have increasingly appeared on social media, especially on Twitter and Facebook, coinciding with the 2019 New Zealand attack, the 2019 El Paso incident, and Britain’s exit from the European Union in 2020. This study examines the content and the form of extreme right-wing activities on Facebook and Twitter to promote their ideologies. A qualitative content analysis was conducted on posts shared by extreme-right groups on public Facebook and Twitter accounts in Great Britain, the United States and Australia. The sample spans from March 15, 2019 to February 5, 2020. The posts were coded according to a coding instrument developed based on the existing literature spreading extremist ideologies on social media. The coding instrument consisted of categories and subcategories such as ‘the protection of western values’, ‘anti-LGBT activism’, ‘anti-feminism’, ‘anti-Islam’, ‘anti-immigrant sentiments’, ‘fostering the white race’, and ‘anti-elitist populism’. Findings suggest that the most prevalent extremist ideologies on Facebook and Twitter posts were ‘anti-elitist populism’ and ‘the protection of western values’. Also, extremist groups heavily shared posts that combined texts and images to spread their ideologies on social media.

Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Graphics, Augmented Reality and Games (Other)

Journal Section

Research Article

Early Pub Date

May 18, 2023

Publication Date

July 28, 2023

Submission Date

January 12, 2022

Acceptance Date

February 13, 2023

Published in Issue

Year 2023 Number: 64

APA
Masalha, O., & Baş, Ö. (2023). An analysis of social media content shared by right-wing extremist groups in the United States, the Great Britain and Australia. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences, 64, 155-182. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2023-1055875
AMA
1.Masalha O, Baş Ö. An analysis of social media content shared by right-wing extremist groups in the United States, the Great Britain and Australia. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences. 2023;(64):155-182. doi:10.26650/CONNECTIST2023-1055875
Chicago
Masalha, Oday, and Özen Baş. 2023. “An Analysis of Social Media Content Shared by Right-Wing Extremist Groups in the United States, the Great Britain and Australia”. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences, nos. 64: 155-82. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2023-1055875.
EndNote
Masalha O, Baş Ö (July 1, 2023) An analysis of social media content shared by right-wing extremist groups in the United States, the Great Britain and Australia. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences 64 155–182.
IEEE
[1]O. Masalha and Ö. Baş, “An analysis of social media content shared by right-wing extremist groups in the United States, the Great Britain and Australia”, Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences, no. 64, pp. 155–182, July 2023, doi: 10.26650/CONNECTIST2023-1055875.
ISNAD
Masalha, Oday - Baş, Özen. “An Analysis of Social Media Content Shared by Right-Wing Extremist Groups in the United States, the Great Britain and Australia”. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences. 64 (July 1, 2023): 155-182. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2023-1055875.
JAMA
1.Masalha O, Baş Ö. An analysis of social media content shared by right-wing extremist groups in the United States, the Great Britain and Australia. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences. 2023;:155–182.
MLA
Masalha, Oday, and Özen Baş. “An Analysis of Social Media Content Shared by Right-Wing Extremist Groups in the United States, the Great Britain and Australia”. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences, no. 64, July 2023, pp. 155-82, doi:10.26650/CONNECTIST2023-1055875.
Vancouver
1.Oday Masalha, Özen Baş. An analysis of social media content shared by right-wing extremist groups in the United States, the Great Britain and Australia. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences. 2023 Jul. 1;(64):155-82. doi:10.26650/CONNECTIST2023-1055875