1st Edition
Phishing for Nazis Conspiracies, Anonymous Communications and White Supremacy Networks on the Dark Web
Phishing for Nazis is an evidence-based, undercover study of neo-Nazi communities on anonymous communication platforms that helps to shine a light on the dark web. It unveils how hatred and conspiracies spread and thrive online and how white supremacy is becoming prominent as extremists find shelter in the online dank underbelly of society.
Phishing for Nazis explains how online manifestations of hate radicalize people into taking “real-world” action, such as shooting sprees. Methodologically, this book is unique, as it incorporates undercover cyberethnography, a method frequently used by law enforcement and intelligence agencies, unlike traditional academic studies of racism or social behavior that rely on secondary sources or surveys.
With a particular interest on how race issues translate online, the book presents the true phenomenon of racism without relying on political correctness or whitewashing. It contributes to the field of cyber communication, as it details why and how people communicate and manage entire communities without knowing one another. The book also contributes to public policy, regulators, and technology companies as they deal with the practice of online anonymity and extremism.
Biography
Lev Topor is an ISGAP visiting scholar at the Woolf Institute (Cambridge), a senior research fellow at the Center for Cyber Law and Policy at Haifa University, and a former visiting fellow at the International Institute for Holocaust Research at Yad Vashem, Jerusalem. His main research fields are antisemitism and cyber policies. Topor’s most recent book before this one is titled Why Do People Discriminate Against Jews? (with Jonathan Fox). He has published articles for the Journal of Advanced Military Studies, the Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism, Israel Affairs, and the International Journal of Cyber Warfare and Terrorism, among others. Additionally, Topor’s research on the dark web has won several awards, including the annual Robert Wistrich Award from the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism and an annual award from the Association of Civil-Military Studies in Israel.
"Lev Topor’s book accurately describes the danger arising from the combination of White supremacy, antisemitism, online radicalization, and Holocaust denial. At a time when terrorists are releasing violent, antisemitic, racist manifestos, and publishing videos of the massacre of civilians, this volume is a wakeup call—a terrifying exposé of the anonymization that the dark web provides and the danger it poses as a means of influencing people to commit violent acts. Paradoxically, while these online platforms were designed to promote social interaction, they are now being transformed into 'antisocial' networks. This is because the proliferation of hate speech on the surface web, the dark web, and encrypted messaging apps is creating ever more profound global social divisions.”
Stephanie Courouble-Share in the Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs
