#Canadians among most active in online right-wing extremism, report claims

According to a report released Friday, Canadians are among the “most active” in the world when it comes to right-wing extremism online.

The report, titled “An Online Environmental Scan of Right-wing Extremism in Canada”, was published by the UK-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) think-tank, and “found more than 6,600 online channels pages, accounts and groups — where Canadians were involved in spreading white supremacist, misogynistic or other radical views” according to the CBC.

Shockingly, Canadians were found to be “highly active,” on offensive forums like 4Chan, even more than Americans or the British.

The report shows how extremism is moving toward “less regulated” platforms, experts told the CBC.

“For us to be up there with the heavy hitters … it’s a wake-up call,” said Barbara Perry, director of Ontario Tech University’s Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism.

“Globally, in recent years, we have seen a surge in activity by right-wing extremists, in terms of violent mobilization, protests, but also the use of disinformation and co-ordinated hate online,” Jacob Davey, ISD senior research manager and a study co-author told the CBC. “Unfortunately, Canada hasn’t escaped that trend.”

The researchers describe right-wing extremism as being “characterized by a racially, ethnically and sexually defined nationalism … often framed in terms of white power.”

Extremists have been tied to the 2017 Quebec City mosque shooting and a 2018 attack in Toronto.