Inside the Far-Right Podcast Ecosystem

A Special Report by the Southern Poverty Law Center

The SPLC’s Hatewatch blog has just released a report: Inside the Far-right Podcast Ecosystem. This four-part series – the latest installments in Hatewatch’s ongoing TechWatch project – takes a deep dive into 18 different far-right podcasts released between 2005 and 2020. SPLC researchers analyze the relationship between 900 hosts and guests on 4,046 episodes, revealing the key figures who were able to leverage the podcast ecosystem to refine their messaging and extend the reach of their propaganda.

Inside the Far-right Podcast Ecosystem examines the origin and growth of this extremist media community, exposing the individuals and groups that used this technology to expand their networks of hate. Our research reveals how extremists such as Richard B. Spencer leveraged podcasts to popularize the “alt-right” movement, as well as how podcasts provided on-the-ground organizers a platform for planning the violence and mayhem of the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally. Alarmingly, our analysis also demonstrates how extremists used podcasts to cultivate their own financially lucrative video and livestreaming landscape, which is now dominated by such sites as YouTube, Twitch and DLive.

You can access all four parts of the report on the TechWatch landing page – or get started with Part 1, “Building a Network of Hate,” here.

Source: SPLC