Escape Routes: How far-right actors circumvent the Network Enforcement Act

The study analyzes the online behavior of right-wing extremists who use established platforms like Facebook and YouTube to link users to alternative platforms. It finds that these actors use 'softer' content and dog-whistling on mainstream sites to avoid deplatforming while moving more direct extremist communication to alternative spaces. While no single alternative platform dominates except for Telegram, the use of audiovisual platforms and 'fleeting content' like livestreams creates significant challenges for moderation and research due to a lack of traceability.

• Right-wing extremist actors use established social media platforms as 'entry points' to redirect users to alternative, less regulated platforms. To avoid being banned or having content deleted, they post 'softer' content using dog-whistling on mainstream platforms while reserving direct extremist communication for alternative platforms.
• No single alternative platform has become the primary favorite for the radical right, which limits the reach of individual actors in these subcultures, with the notable exception of Telegram, which is of outstanding importance.
• Audiovisual platforms are particularly popular among the analyzed actors, posing a challenge for researchers and security authorities because their data structure makes content harder to analyze than text.
• The use of 'fleeting content'—such as Instagram stories or livestreams that are not saved—creates a moderation gap that users are actively exploiting to share extreme content without challenge.

APA

Hammer, D., Matlach, P., Gerster, L., & Baaken, T. (2022). Escape Routes: How far-right actors circumvent the Network Enforcement Act. Institute for Strategic Dialogue. https://www.isdglobal.org/publication/escape-routes-how-far-right-actors-circumvent-the-network-enforcement-act/

Chicago

Hammer, Dominik, Paula Matlach, Lea Gerster, and Till Baaken. Escape Routes: How far-right actors circumvent the Network Enforcement Act. Institute for Strategic Dialogue, 2022. https://www.isdglobal.org/publication/escape-routes-how-far-right-actors-circumvent-the-network-enforcement-act/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hammer |first1=Dominik |last2=Matlach |first2=Paula |last3=Gerster |first3=Lea |last4=Baaken |first4=Till |title=Escape Routes: How far-right actors circumvent the Network Enforcement Act |publisher=Institute for Strategic Dialogue |date=21 October 2022 |url=https://www.isdglobal.org/publication/escape-routes-how-far-right-actors-circumvent-the-network-enforcement-act/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hammer2022escape, author = {Hammer, Dominik and Matlach, Paula and Gerster, Lea and Baaken, Till}, title = {{Escape Routes: How far-right actors circumvent the Network Enforcement Act}}, institution = {Institute for Strategic Dialogue}, year = {2022}, month = oct, url = {https://www.isdglobal.org/publication/escape-routes-how-far-right-actors-circumvent-the-network-enforcement-act/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }