Extremist Nick Fuentes frequently spreads white supremacist propaganda - including Holocaust denial - only to later claim he was "just joking."
"Irony is so important for giving a lot of cover and plausible deniability for our views," Fuentes has said.
npr.org/2021/04/26/990…
"Irony is so important for giving a lot of cover and plausible deniability for our views," Fuentes has said.
npr.org/2021/04/26/990…
On April 22, Fuentes went on a violent and misogynistic rant, in which he fantasized about domestic violence. Again, he claimed he was "just joking."
https://twitter.com/i/status/1385656609351692290
Researchers who track extremism - like @cassiepmiller and @jaredlholt - told me that the use of irony is frequently strategic, and an attempt to avoid consequences for the most violent, offensive, or racist rhetoric.
npr.org/2021/04/26/990…
npr.org/2021/04/26/990…
@cassiepmiller @jaredlholt This is not a new tactic among extremists.
In fact, historians have documented how, very early on, the Ku Klux Klan used outlandish rituals and racist minstrel shows to distract from their campaign of domestic terror, assassinations, and murder.
In fact, historians have documented how, very early on, the Ku Klux Klan used outlandish rituals and racist minstrel shows to distract from their campaign of domestic terror, assassinations, and murder.
Because of these tactics - pushed by pro-Klan newspapers - some white officials failed to take the Klan seriously.
Here's how a Congressman described KKK atrocities in the early 1870s:
"Mischievous boys who want to have some fun go on a masquerading frolic to scare the negroes."
Here's how a Congressman described KKK atrocities in the early 1870s:
"Mischievous boys who want to have some fun go on a masquerading frolic to scare the negroes."
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