A/HRC/62/56 prompted several States, including Canada, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, as well as the European Union, to designate the organization as a terrorist entity. The intensifying migration of neo-Nazi and other extremist content into algorithmically driven digital platforms 43. The Special Rapporteur identifies the continuing migration of neo-Nazi and extremist content into algorithmically driven digital platforms as one of the most consequential contemporary developments. Contemporary digital technologies do not merely reproduce pre-existing forms of neo-Nazism but actively transform and reconfigure them. Online platforms host extensive networks of accounts promoting Nazism, including content related to Holocaust denial, glorification of Nazi ideology and support for racially motivated violence. Evidence suggests that algorithmic recommendation systems may actively amplify such content following minimal user interaction, thereby facilitating rapid exposure and potential radicalization. A range of digital platforms, including Telegram, VKontakte, Gab and Reddit, as well as imageboards and other lightly moderated environments, remain particularly susceptible to the circulation of extremist propaganda. At the same time, mainstream platforms continue to play a decisive role in amplifying such content, enabling the rapid spread of slogans, hashtags, memes and decontextualized audiovisual material, as well as coordinated campaigns targeting individuals and groups belonging to national, ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities.14 44. Extremist networks have adapted their strategies to exploit algorithmic systems, intentionally designing content to maximize visibility and reach. This has enabled accounts with limited or no prior audience to disseminate extremist material widely. 15 These digital ecosystems are often marked by anonymity, platform migration and the use of semi-private or encrypted online spaces, which may limit content moderation and enable the sustained circulation of extremist material. Information received by the Special Rapporteur described how researchers investigated content moderation of such content by creating dummy accounts. They found that, after viewing just ten videos from pro-Nazi accounts, TikTok's algorithmic 'For You Page' immediately began recommending similar content — with an AItranslated Hitler speech appearing within 25 videos. Critically, the platform failed to find any violations upon being reported, and accounts remained active for over a week . As was highlighted in the Special Rapporteur’s report on online racist hate speech, digital platforms tend to use content moderation algorithms to identify hateful content and may use automation or employ staff to moderate content, among other measures. Such measures tend to be grounded in race-neutral approaches, which can lead to the replication or even exacerbation of societal racial and ethnic inequalities.16 45. While acknowledging the heterogeneity of motivations underlying engagement with such content, the Special Rapporteur emphasizes that the repeated exposure and circulation of Nazi symbolism in online environments contributes to the desensitization of users to the historical realities of mass violence and persecution. She further notes that the global circulation of such imagery reflects a broader trend in which extremist symbols are increasingly globalised and integrated into transnational digital cultures, complicating traditional understandings of neo-Nazi dissemination and influence.17 46. The Special Rapporteur received reports of substantial surges in both the volume and severity of hate-related content online. This includes the proliferation of dehumanizing narratives and calls for violence and coded language designed to evade detection. Platforms have reportedly faced challenges in enforcing content moderation policies consistently across languages and regions. 14 15 16 17 10 Heather J. Williams and Alexandra T. Evans, Extremist Use of Online Spaces (Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2022), PE-A1458-1, accessed May 11, 2026, https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/perspectives/PEA1400/PEA1458-1/RAND_PEA14581.pdf. A/C.3/73/L.53/Rev.1. A/78/538. A/HRC/56/67.

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