Far-right movements increasingly use humor, memes, and playful online culture to spread their ideas and build community. But how exactly does this work, and why is it so effective? At CAIS, I will develop a theoretical framework — “ludic fascism” — to explain how play and politics intertwine in digital far-right activism. I examine two key strategies: how memes create a sense of belonging and gradually normalize radical ideas, and how dark humor and apocalyptic fantasy fuel radicalization under the guise of entertainment. To answer these questions, I draw on several years of digital ethnographic fieldwork on platforms like YouTube, Twitch, Discord, and Twitter/X, observing how far-right actors use trolling and meme culture to connect online communities with real-world activism.
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