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Far-right German rappers are exploiting social media platforms to spread extremist rhetoric, with TikTok emerging as a particularly fertile ground for hate speech and disinformation, according to an investigation by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
One prominent figure in this scene, rapper MaKss Damage, whose real name is Julian Fritsch, posted videos on TikTok containing clearly antisemitic content. In one particularly disturbing clip, Fritsch referenced the war in Gaza while suggesting Adolf Hitler was correct in his warnings about Jewish people, with the rapper’s face morphing into an antisemitic demonic silhouette during the performance.
“Back then it was Germany, today it’s Palestine,” Fritsch rapped in the video, prominently displaying a Germanic triangle tattoo widely recognized as a far-right symbol. He continued with thinly veiled references to Hitler, describing him as an “old painter” whose warnings people now supposedly understand.
The video also propagated an unfounded antisemitic conspiracy theory about the September 11, 2001 attacks, falsely claiming that Jewish ownership of the World Trade Center played a role in the tragedy.
When contacted by AFP about these videos, TikTok removed all of Fritsch’s accounts but declined to answer specific questions regarding their hate speech policy enforcement procedures.
Fritsch is no fringe figure in extremist circles. Germany’s federal domestic intelligence agency has officially identified him as a right-wing extremist, and he has been named as a supporter of the far-right party The Third Way.
This online extremist activity comes amid a concerning political climate in Germany, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has gained substantial support as anti-immigration sentiment hardens. Government data released in May revealed a troubling increase in politically motivated crimes, including antisemitic offenses.
Experts note that Fritsch represents just one player in a broader ecosystem of German-language far-right performers who leverage social media and streaming platforms to promote extremist viewpoints. Thorsten Hindrichs, a musicologist at the University of Mainz, observed that this online neo-Nazi movement, which includes Holocaust deniers, has become “significantly more radical in recent years.” This assessment aligns with intelligence reports from states like Saxony, which indicate the scene is expanding.
What makes this particularly concerning is the inconsistency in content moderation. AFP discovered that numerous clips containing apparent violations of TikTok’s hate speech policies remained accessible on the platform.
Bernhard Weidinger, an Austrian expert on right-wing extremism at the Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance in Vienna, pointed out an interesting contradiction in the far-right’s stance toward the Muslim world. While domestically these groups “agitate against ‘Islamisation,’ portraying Islam as incompatible with Western values,” their foreign policy sympathies often align with Palestinian causes, believing they are “also kept down by Jews and Americans.”
Another prominent figure in this scene is rapper E.Mar, who has amassed over 96,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Concealing his identity with a black skull mask and often dressed in German flag-themed attire, he produces content attacking Germany’s immigration policies and has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok.
When questioned about hosting such content, Spotify stated it removes songs promoting violent extremism but may allow content that “does not explicitly incite violence or hatred against protected groups” to remain online.
German researchers have identified TikTok’s live video function, which enables real-time interaction between creators and viewers, as particularly problematic. Markus Boesch, a researcher at the University of Muenster, warned that these interactions create a “more private, intimate situation” that “might turn into some form of extremist recruitment,” often directing users to platforms with fewer content restrictions like Telegram or Discord.
These TikTok communities demonstrate remarkable adaptability, according to Tom Divon, a social media researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who described them as “not massive, but nimble,” frequently migrating between accounts to evade detection.
The investigation also revealed sophisticated evasion tactics, with users employing coded language and emojis to signify far-right allegiance while avoiding algorithmic detection. Common symbols include blue hearts (representing AfD support) and two lightning bolts (referencing the Third Reich’s SS unit).
Despite platform efforts to control extremist content, the investigation highlights the ongoing challenges social media companies face in effectively moderating the spread of hate speech and extremist ideology in the digital age.
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9 Comments
Deeply disturbing to see German neo-Nazis leveraging music and social media to spread their toxic ideology. Platforms have a responsibility to take strong action against the propagation of hate speech and disinformation.
Disgusting to see neo-Nazis use music and social media to push their vile agenda. Spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories and Nazi propaganda is completely unacceptable. Platforms need better moderation to shut down this kind of content.
Exploiting social media to disseminate disinformation and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories is completely unacceptable. Platforms must take strong action to remove this kind of extremist content and shut down the accounts spreading it.
This is a deeply concerning trend. Using social media to amplify far-right views, Holocaust denial, and antisemitic conspiracy theories is completely unacceptable. Robust moderation is critical to addressing this threat.
This is a very worrying development. Using music and social media to amplify far-right propaganda and antisemitic conspiracy theories is completely unacceptable. Decisive action is needed to combat this threat.
Exploiting social media platforms to push neo-Nazi agendas and Holocaust denial is abhorrent. This kind of extremist content has no place online and must be swiftly removed by platforms to prevent further harm.
What a disturbing trend – German neo-Nazis leveraging music and social media to espouse their toxic, hateful ideology. This is a serious issue that requires a robust response to prevent the further radicalization of vulnerable audiences.
This is deeply concerning. Exploiting social media to spread extremist rhetoric and hate speech is highly damaging. It’s crucial that platforms take strong action to counter such malicious disinformation campaigns.
Rappers using their platforms to amplify far-right views and Holocaust denial is abhorrent. The normalization of such extremist ideologies on TikTok and other social media is deeply troubling. More must be done to combat the spread of hate speech online.