Because hate, whether visible or hidden, runs through our everyday spaces. This guide provides the tools to spot hateful symbols and speech, understand their meaning and assess their impact, whether ideological or legal. It helps everyone stay vigilant and prevent escalation toward violence.
German expression meaning “work sets you free,” which was displayed above the entrance gates of several Nazi extermination camps, most notably Auschwitz-Birkenau. The phrase is now taken up by neo-Nazi groups, who display it in their tattoos or on their clothing.
Expression that is a translation of the slogan “Blut und Ehre” of the Hitler Youth (the organization that brought together the young members of the Nazi party in Germany between 1926 and 1945). Today, it is used as a slogan by far-right groups to show their adherence to Nazi ideology. A neo-Nazi music promotion network of the same name was founded in 1987 by Ian Stuart, singer of an anti-communist rock band.
Term meaning “cuckold,” or a man who “lets himself be walked all over.” It pejoratively refers to men who do not meet a standard of virility and machismo in society or toward women, and is mostly used by the Alt-Right. It is, however, becoming increasingly popular in other spheres of the far right. As with many online expressions, its use does not automatically signal adherence to far-right ideologies, so it is important to consider the context in which it is used.
Used mostly in the U.S. military context, this misogynistic term refers to overweight women who depend on—and above all take advantage of—the income and benefits of their partner’s or husband’s military employment. It is fairly widespread on online networks and amounts to a hateful prejudice against military wives.
Latin phrase meaning “God wills it,” the rallying cry of knights during the Christian Crusades. The expression was generally used to support and justify the Crusaders’ military expeditions to the “Holy Land.” Popularized by Hollywood films about the Crusades, it is often used by individuals linked to the far right, ironically and threateningly toward Muslims. Those who use it seriously see themselves as the symbolic heirs of the Crusaders, come to cleanse the Holy Land—which can now mean any Western country—of “Saracens” (Muslims).
Antisemitic code consisting of surrounding the name of an individual, an institution, or a category of people, such as (((politicians))) or (((banker))), with three pairs of parentheses, in order to designate that individual, institution, or social category as Jewish (as a pejorative identifying marker). It is a fairly recent antisemitic code, which appeared in 2014 on the Alt-Right blog “The Right Stuff.” It is therefore mainly used online by individuals linked to the Alt-Right, neo-Nazism, or white supremacy. Along the same lines, the terms “blue” or “blueish” are also used by the online far right to covertly designate people or organizations as Jewish on social media.
This term draws a link between “feminism” and “Nazism,” and thereby seeks to designate and categorize feminism—and therefore feminists—as extreme and violent. On the one hand, the term conveys prejudice against women’s liberation struggles; on the other, it promotes a false notion that associates this struggle with violence comparable to that unleashed by the Nazi regime.
Contraction of “gas” and “million.” Expression used in far-right circles, particularly the Alt-Right, to mock the 6 million Jews exterminated in Nazi concentration camps during the Second World War. It is sometimes replaced by “Gorillion” or “Six Gorillion” to suggest a supposed exaggeration of the “real” number of Jews who died in the extermination camps.
Hebrew word that literally designates gentiles or non-Jewish nations, and was originally used in a fairly neutral sense. The term was later used in an antisemitic context. The phrase “The Goyim Know, Shut It Down” is used, sometimes in memes, to mock Jewish people by referencing the conspiracy theory that the system is controlled by Jews. The idea is that a non-Jew (goy) has discovered the “truth” about the conspiracy, so it must be shut down to avoid being exposed. “Goyim” is now widely circulated by white supremacists and antisemites to designate individuals who supposedly serve as instruments of the international Jewish conspiracy. Some antisemitic activists sometimes call themselves “goy” to signal their pride in being non-Jewish.
Pejorative expression (kâfir in the singular, kuffar in the plural) first used by Salafist and jihadist movements to designate non-believers and apostates of Islam (Jews, Christians, atheists, or Muslims living in the West). The term has been reappropriated by right-wing extremists to signal a rejection of Islam and pride in not being Muslim. An Islamophobic symbol in the far-right context, it may be written in Arabic so that it can be read and understood by Muslims who speak or understand the language. It is often associated with military/militia/police imagery and is popular among Islamophobic militias such as the Three Percenters (III%).
Variants of one and the same idea, these words are first and foremost fatphobic, in that they mock people who are significantly overweight. Two of these words, “landwhale” and “hambeast,” are used to describe an obese or overweight person (man or woman) in an intentionally judgmental and hateful way. The third, “womanatee,” is used specifically for women who are significantly overweight.
Acronym for “Mort aux Juifs” (French for “Death to the Jews”). It is an antisemitic expression used almost exclusively by neo-Nazi groups and individuals, and may also refer to the title of a song by the neo-Nazi band Panzerjäger calling for the genocide of Jews. Note that in French this acronym can also mean “mis(e) à jour” (“updated”), so it is essential to take the context into account.
Expression often represented visually by the figure of a Black man (black is used generically here to symbolize what is not white) and a white woman holding hands. It is used by white supremacists to denounce multiracial and multi-ethnic unions, couples, and families which, in their view, contribute to “the extinction of the white race.”
Expression meaning Racial Holy War. It refers to the project of an armed conflict pitting “whites” against their supposed racial enemies, which would eventually lead to the final victory of the “white race” over them, as well as to its world domination. The expression was popularized by American white supremacist Ben Klassen, founder of the World Church of the Creator (a religion centred on white nationalist ideas). Since then, the expression has been used by various white supremacist or neo-Nazi individuals and groups, often in the form of calls for racial violence or to take up arms in defence of the “white race.” More recently, the code word “boogaloo,” or “big igloo,” has appeared online, used by individuals linked to the far right to refer to this race war.
Euphemistic expression and meme meaning “kill Muslims.” The meme refers to an anti-Turkish and anti-Muslim propaganda music video produced in the 1990s by Serbian soldiers, in tribute to Serbian politician Radovan Karadžić, convicted of genocidal crimes during the Balkan Wars. The euphemism has since been taken up by groups and individuals linked to the far right, mainly the Alt-Right, as a meme and as an Islamophobic expression calling for the extermination of Muslims. Notably, the perpetrator of the Christchurch attacks identified himself as a “kebab removalist.”
Although the expression can be used in other contexts, it is generally used by masculinist groups such as Incels to denounce their lack of sexual relations. The denunciations sparked by the #MeToo movement, which began in 2016 (and continued afterward), exacerbated certain Incel grievances, including their inability to obtain sexual relations with women. This context led these groups and individuals to put forward the idea that not having sex was worse than being raped, and therefore that their situation was nothing other than a form of “reverse rape” of which they are the victims.
Pejorative term used to refer to Jews and, more broadly, to the genocide of the Jews by claiming that it has been exaggerated. The word “gorillion” has no meaning in itself and is used mainly by antisemites and the Alt-Right fringe of white supremacists. The expression “Muh Gorillion,” a distortion of “My Gorillion,” is also seen in media and on forums frequented by the Alt-Right, and is used to mock the Jewish genocide.
Pejoratively designates “leftist” men to describe their weakness and lack of virility, often in reference to the association between masculinity and meat consumption, or to the phytoestrogens contained in soy, presumed to cause reduced fertility in men who consume it. The term appeared online around 2017 and remains mainly used as an insult by individuals linked to the Alt-Right.
Derogatory and pejorative term meaning “that hoe over there,” used by the Alt-Right to describe women in general, or those they do not hold in high regard. “Thot be gone” or “Thot patrol” express the desire to expel women from their discussion spaces. Used on its own, this symbol does not necessarily represent adherence to far-right ideologies, but it remains strongly connoted in terms of sexism.
Provocative slogans created in response to the “Black Lives Matter” slogan launched as part of the mobilization against police violence toward Black people in the United States. “White Lives Matter” and “It’s okay to be white” were introduced in support of two propaganda campaigns launched by the Alt-Right to provoke their political opponents and to create “evidence” supporting the theory of anti-white racism. They are used exclusively by white supremacist groups.
Motto of the Stormfront website. The slogan “White Pride World Wide” is written in black and white in biker style (“top & bottom rocker”) around a white Celtic cross on a black field. Once the largest white supremacist website in the world, and run by an influential member of the Ku Klux Klan, Stormfront was long an essential platform for the far right. It is still used by neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups and individuals, but its number of users, as well as its private funding, has declined in recent years.
Slogans used as identity markers to express pride in belonging to the “white race” or in white supremacy, as well as hatred of “non-white” people. These slogans are displayed by white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups within the far right.
