#Islamexit: inter-group antagonism on Twitter

Contesting #StopIslam: The Dynamics of a Counter-narrative Against Right-wing Populism

“…Overall, our results mirror the findings of similar studies of Islamophobic and racist hashtags, which have demonstrated the strategic and instrumental use of Twitter by the far right to mobilize activists and extend the reach of their propaganda by connecting to other conservative groups (Dawes, 2017;Evolvi, 2017;Siapera et al, 2018). However, the prominence of the counter-narrative adds another layer to this research, in foregrounding moments when this discourse was contested.…”

“…After the initial counter-narrative there has been little evidence of contestation of the ongoing use of #StopIslam in relation to more recent attacks in Manchester and London. The dynamics of the #StopIslam hashtag, along with others (Evolvi, 2017;Siapera et al, 2018 and the other papers in this special edition), demonstrates the strategic and instrumental use of social media by right-wing activists, where Twitter is just one component of a more complex media ecology that is working to push mainstream political discussion to the right. In this context, it is particularly important to understand the dynamics of critical counter-narratives and the political possibilities they can (or indeed cannot) offer.…”

“…The circulation and contestation of #StopIslam thus speaks to the present political context, in drawing together concerns about the rise of right-wing populism, white supremacy and normalization of nationalistic and xenophobic sentiment targeted at particular communities. In particular, the hashtag ' campaign' seems to bear out concern about the imbrication of social media in these discourses (Evolvi, 2017). At the same time, responses to #StopIslam also promise a glimmer of hope regarding the capacity of social media platforms to also be used to challenge hate speech, even if such uses are fraught with compromises and difficulties.…”

Tactical interventions in online hate speech: The case of #stopIslam

“…Depictions of Twitter as contributing to 'conversation' are especially dangerous in a context animated by affectively charged (Abdel-Fadil, 2019), antagonistic (Evolvi, 2018) exchanges. In the case of #stopIslam, the reproduction of existing inequalities was compounded by the broader media ecology, specifically the relationship between Twitter and right-wing media: as evident in the emergence of right-wing bloggers as nodes who anchored the tightly bound networks of users circulating hate speech.…”

Hate in a Tweet: Exploring Internet-Based Islamophobic Discourses

“…In an earlier study, I explored post-Brexit Islamophobia to reflect on Twitter and group polarization (Evolvi 2017). My results suggest that Twitter facilitates the creation of opinion-based groups that reinforce existing beliefs and that are based on complex understandings of national identities, which involve ethnicity, political belonging, and gender.…”