In the Blind Spot: Right-wing Extremists on Alternative and Established Platforms

This ISD Germany publication summarizes discussions from an expert conference held in Berlin in September 2023 examining how German-language right-wing extremists operate across both mainstream and alternative digital platforms, including Telegram. It brings together perspectives from researchers, regulators, and law enforcement on how extremist actors build infrastructure and shift activity between established and fringe services to evade moderation.

The publication addresses topics including far-right financing, strategic and discursive shifts within online extremist milieus, deradicalization approaches, and the practical challenges of enforcing the EU's Digital Services Act against actors who migrate between platforms with differing moderation regimes. It characterizes the gaps that open up when extremist networks move fluidly between heavily moderated mainstream platforms and less-regulated alternative ones as a recurring "blind spot" for both platforms and regulators.

The full report text (available as a downloadable PDF) was not directly accessible for this summary; the above draws on the publication's stated scope and the conference's discussion themes as described by ISD.