Authorities in the USA and Europe consider this movement to be more dangerous than Islamist terrorism.

Right-wing extremist groups are networked worldwide. Driven by the ideology of white supremacy, they spread their propaganda via digital platforms. Social media and encrypted messaging services such as Telegram make it possible to disseminate content in real time and recruit new followers.

18-year-old Payton Gendron killed 10 people, most of them African-Americans, with an assault rifle in a supermarket in Buffalo in the US state of New York. Before committing this crime, he was influenced and then radicalized by right-wing extremist videos posted by British teenager Daniel Harris. Harris has written entire books about his white supremacist beliefs, and published them online. 

It’s a problem with global dimensions: Armed with a machete and Molotov cocktails, a 17-year-old attempted to storm a school in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo. He was wearing a swastika armband. These are just a few of the cases documented in the film, which clearly show how dire the threat of right-wing terror has become.

Germany is also a flashpoint for right-wing terror, with attacks in Hanau, Halle and Munich. Many perpetrators are inspired by Brenton Tarrant, who murdered 51 people in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, and by the Norwegian assassin Anders Breivik, who shot dead 69 young participants at a Labor Party youth camp on the island of Utøya near Olso. Previously, he had detonated a bomb in the government district of Oslo, murdering eight people. He justified his actions in a video and a 1,500-page manifesto that went viral. As with the Australian Tarrant, who also wrote a manifesto entitled ‘The Great Replacement’, Breivik's message is about the superiority of the white race, which is supposedly being targeted and replaced by migrants. It’s a view that is also shared by an increasing number of people outside extremist circles. As a result, hatred and racism are spreading worldwide like a virus.

In a major raid in Germany in December 2022, 25 right-wing extremists were arrested, including members of the so-called ‘Reichsbürger’ or ‘Citizens of the Reich’ movement, conspiracy theorists, retired military officers and a former member of the Bundestag. According to the German Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, the group had been plotting to overthrow the democratic system. In this context, UN Secretary-General Guterres spoke of the greatest threat to our democracy and its institutions. 

Filmmaker Dirk Laabs' research shows that soldiers and veterans pose a particularly great danger - in the USA, France, Germany, Spain and Russia. Former and active soldiers network globally and are potential assassins. Right-wing extremist mercenaries also represent a danger. This group is potentially even more threatening - due to their combat experience, access to weapons and professional networks. WORLD WHITE HATE unveils the parallels and overlaps between these very different right-wing extremist groups.

But how can this hatred be countered? How can right-wing terror be stopped? What can be done to protect democratic society, people and state institutions from right-wing terror?

Filmed in the USA, western and eastern Europe, the UK, Scandinavia and Brazil, WORLD WHITE HATE charts the development of the threat posed by right-wing terror, a danger that has been underestimated for far too long. It is exacerbated by populist politicians such as Donald Trump and radical right-wing parties.

The documentary WORLD WHITE HATE by Dirk Laabs analyzes the mechanisms of radicalization and discusses possible counter-strategies for democratic societies. The central question remains: "How can we win the digital and real battle against increasing violence from the right?”

 

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