How self-publishing, social media and algorithms are aiding far-right novelists

Wed, 15 Jun 2022 06:12:59 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/how-self-publishing-social-media-and-algorithms-are-aiding-far-right-novelists-183453>

"Far-right extremists pose an increasing risk in Australia and around the
world. In 2020, ASIO revealed that about 40% of its counter-terrorism work
involved the far right.

The recent mass murder in Buffalo, USA, and the attack in Christchurch, New
Zealand, in 2019 are just two examples of many far-right extremist acts of
terror.

Far-right extremists have complex and diverse methods for spreading their
messages of hate. These can include through social media, video games, wellness
culture, interest in medieval European history, and fiction. Novels by both
extremist and non-extremist authors feature on far-right “reading lists”
designed to draw people into their beliefs and normalise hate.

As literary studies scholars, our research grew out of exploring these reading
lists and investigating why extremists write fiction. In 2020, we began looking
at how someone who casually encountered a reading list online might access the
books and pursue the ideas they contain."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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