Good morning,
The most interesting part of an interview often takes place after the interview formally ends.
'I have everything I need,' I say. And then the interviewee loosens up and starts candidly chatting, person to person.
And so it was with Dr. Katherine Kondor. She researches the culture rather than the politics of the far-right – a topic that's either overlooked or sensationalised, neither of which are helpful.
What stuck with me, is that she could effortlessly name all the different aspects of regular life – music, sports, food, fashion – that have been co-opted by far-right online influencers. And how easy it thus becomes to get unintentionally sucked into a dark place where sour-dough bread baking is kneaded in with anti-trans rhetoric.
It's a strategy that has been copied and remixed and is now found across languages and culture, her research finds.
But it also made us wonder aloud about how intentional this mechanism actually is.
Was the demand for misogynist gym tips or anti-muslim meal kits just latent, waiting to be filled, or manufactured by the whims of algorithms optimising for engagement?
I don't think we'll ever really know. But what I do know is that researching the mechanisms is in my opinion at least as important as discussing the politics.
– Alejandro Tauber, publisher
PS. EUobserver was polled to be the 7th 'most influential' media in Brussels – quite the feat if you take into account we are just 8 journalists, backed by readers, pitted against newsrooms factors of magnitude larger.
This year, we turn 25 and are looking for 2,500 new supporting members to take their stake in EU democracy. A functioning EU relies on a well-informed public – you.
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Top story
Russian steel boss to sue EU over shipping sanctions
Russian steel king Vladimir Lisin is planning to sue the EU over its latest sanctions, amid a wider battle to protect his European assets.
Lisin, who is chairman of the NLMK steel group and Russia's fourth-richest man (according to Forbes magazine), will contest the EU's decision to blacklist the Volga Shipping firm, which he also owns.
The EU listed Volga Shipping in its 17th round of Russia sanctions, saying it was helping to smuggle Russian oil.
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