Neo-Nazi groups use the audio-sharing platform Soundcloud to spread their ideology. The platform hosts podcasts, music, and other audio content where neo-Nazis express extremist ideology, disseminate their ideas, and call for others to join.
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Neo-Nazi Music On Soundcloud: Genre Tags, Historical Nazi Figures, Podcasts, Playlists, And Users
Among Soundcloud's library of audio content is an extensive collection of neo-Nazi-inspired music and podcasts. Neo-Nazi material on Soundcloud is widespread despite the platform's clear prohibition on content that is an "incitement to, or glorification of, violent acts either against an individual or the wider public," from Soundcloud's Community Guidelines.[1]
Neo-Nazi content and communities hosted by Soundcloud are prevalent, and can be easily found through the identification of user networks, searchable tags, and ideologically-inspired playlists.
Celebrating Historical Nazi Figures
Neo-Nazi content on Soundcloud frequently commemorates historical Nazi figures such as Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler, in addition to lesser-known figures who were found guilty of crimes against humanity such as Josef Mengele and Oskar Dirlewanger. Tracks include lyrics supporting such figures, clips from historical speeches, often paired with images of the individuals.
Over 500 tracks are associated with Hitler, with dozens of tracks explicitly supporting Hitler, Nazism, and the perpetration of the Holocaust.
Heinrich Himmler – the commander of the SS – is referenced by 59 Soundcloud users.
Josef Mengele – an SS physician known as the "Angel of Death" for his barbaric experiments on prisoners in Auschwitz – is memorialized in the form of track titles, lyrics, and individuals using his name.
Oskar Dirlewanger – leader of the Black Hunters, an SS brigade composed of criminals and known for the commission of mass murders of civilians, especially in Warsaw – is celebrated in a track on Soundcloud. The track includes the sounds of automatic rifle fire and people screaming in an apparent celebration of the Wola Massacre of tens of thousands of civilians in western Warsaw in August 1944.
Celebrating Contemporary Neo-Nazi Figures, Including Perpetrators Of Mass Casualty Events
Neo-Nazi music on Soundcloud also celebrates contemporary figures in the movement, especially perpetrators of mass killings such as Anders Breivik and Brenton Tarrant. Music celebrating such figures glorifies their conduct and as such violates Soundcloud's Community Guidelines.
A neo-Nazi Soundcloud user based on a ficitonal neo-Nazi figure are rife with antisemitism, anti-Black racism, and calls for violence. Songs uploaded by the user include a song glorifying the Holocaust and killings Jews, and an album which includes antisemitic and violent tracks such as the summoning of the fictional neo-Nazi figure to kill all Jews and enemies of neo-Nazis. The album also celebrates neo-Nazis who carried out mass attacks on civilians such as Robert Bowers – the 2019 shooter at the Tree of Life synagogue.
Soundcloud also hosts music celebrating Brenton Tarrant's livestreamed killing of 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. A song with over 25,000 plays includes an audio clip from Tarrant's livestream of him saying, "remember lads, subscribe to PewDiePie." Comments on the clip largely consist of praise for Tarrant with comments such as "Tarrant deserves the iron cross." The song is tagged "#fashwave."
Genre Tags Identify Neo-Nazi Music
Tags are an effective way for neo-Nazis to spread their music. Various genre tags such as #fashwave and #reichswave allow users to easily identify music that aligns with their ideology.
The #fashwave genre tag – a portmanteau of fascist and the dark, melancholic genre of music known as synthwave – is the genre most closely aligned with Nazism on Soundcloud. Much of the content samples audio clips of threats or inciting speeches by political figures, most often Nazis. The #fashwave tag is easily searchable on Soundcloud and takes users directly to neo-Nazi content, with several songs having over 100,000 listens.
Soundcloud Playlists Spread Neo-Nazi Music Across Genres
Neo-Nazi playlists on Soundcloud spread the ideology by allowing users to group tracks by different users into a playlist. Dozens of playlists on Soundcloud include Nazi-themed phrases in the title. For example, 88 playlists are titled after a common Nazi phrase.
A playlist based on an abbreviation for "national socialist" includes several tracks with tens of thousands of plays. The playlist includes songs rife with antisemitism and support for terror attacks against children and Black people.
Podcasts Propagate Neo-Nazi And White Supremacist Ideology
Neo-Nazi ideology and content is also spread on Soundcloud via white supremacist and neo-Nazi podcasts. One such podcast provides commentary on political debates from a white supremacist perspective. In the first episode hosted on Soundcloud, the host refers to "Jewcons," blames Jared Kushner for the coronavirus, and complains about "globalism" and "globalists" – both dogwhistles for Jews.
A French language podcast hosted on Soundcloud is described as a collaborative podcast for nationalists and militants. Podcast guests have included a Quebecois neo-Nazi group.
Neo-Nazi Users On Soundcloud
Users on Soundcloud upload songs inspired by neo-Nazi ideology, with some users developing a wide following.
One such user was the official musical guest of the neo-Nazi National Policy Institute's November 2016 conference, in which attendees gave Nazi salutes and yelled "Heil Trump." The user posts songs replete with Nazi imagery and ideology and has 4,995 followers, with his songs often garnering tens of thousands of plays. His music and graphics contain clear references to neo-Nazism.
Another user states, "Gassing jews is my favourite pastime" in his bio and has the location selected as "Nazi, Germany." The account posted a song in which user fantasizes about killing Jews, frequently referring to the Holocaust with admiration.
Other users promoting Nazi content include a user who uploaded the marching songs used by Nazi military units, including: the Hitler Youth, Waffen-SS, and 1st Panzer Division.
Some users upload songs by neo-Nazi groups whose official accounts were banned from Soundcloud or no longer exist. One user uploaded a playlist of music by a neo-Nazi artist who was previously banned from Soundcloud.
Other users have uploaded neo-Nazi artists such as the defunct neo-Nazi band Skrewdriver and some active groups to Soundcloud.
[1] Soundcloud.com/community-guidelines
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