Investigations against groups that encourage attacks on schools and similar forms of violence have managed to reduce the circulation of this type of content on the internet. This is the assessment of researcher Michele Prado. Although accounts that were suspended have reappeared, now, according to her, extremists have restricted access to content. “Some accounts were recreated by users I’ve been following for a long time. Most of them are leaving the accounts private,” she says.
Michele has been monitoring groups that promote and encourage attacks since 2020. The researcher is part of the Monitor Do Debate Politico no Meio Digital at the University of São Paulo (USP) and is the author of the books “Ideological Storm – Bolsonarismo: The alt-right and illiberal populism in Brazil” and “Red Pill – Radicalization and Extremism”.
On gaming platforms online, which some of these groups use for communication, the extremists themselves have removed the contents from the air in order to avoid identification. “Sometimes the creator of the server suspects that he has infiltrators and takes down [o servidor]”, says the researcher based on the monitoring carried out in recent weeks.
For Michele, reducing access to content that incites violence is a way to reduce the risk of attacks. “The more inspirational content circulates, the more potential imitators we have. So, the fact of having managed to take down this content that inspires, acts in a positive way for us to try to reduce the potential of new attacks”, she highlighted. She is working on a report to help inform the Ministry of Justice’s actions in this regard.
One measure that Michele considers useful to reduce the circulation of this type of content on the network is the creation of a bank with the digital identification of content that has already been identified as inciting violence. “So, you create a database with the fingerprints and send them to this platform. She needs to have a commitment so that when such content goes up, she takes it down herself without the need for user complaints”, she defends.
hate communities
According to the researcher, these communities bring together young people between 10 and 25 years old, according to what they themselves declare in these discussion spaces. These teenagers relate by affinity with themes such as misanthropy. “A hatred of humanity. Hatred of human beings. This is the main characteristic” emphasizes the researcher. There is also misogyny, which hates women, and anti-Semitism, which hates Jews.
Michele explains that there are young people who are predisposed or actually commit attacks, as well as others who are dedicated to creating and disseminating content to encourage radicalization. “There are people who are there just to produce and disseminate inspiring content. You edits [vídeos], what they call, weapons, the aesthetic markers. There are people who are just there to disseminate instructional content, with instructions on how you are going to make your weapon more lethal, how you have to do it to produce the greatest number of victims”, he details.
It is these individuals who, according to her, distribute the ideological content linked to the extreme right of the world and, many times, know in advance of the attacks. “Those who only do that are a kind of catalyst. Sometimes they know in advance that the attack will happen on a certain day, who the person is, the name of the aggressor”, she explains about the materials disseminated as a way to encourage these violent actions.
These messages are also distributed through social networks and often use an aesthetic called flashwavewith bright colors and visuals reminiscent of the 1980s. Content of this type has been a trademark of the extreme right in different parts of the world, such as among supporters of former US President Donald Trump.
