The fact that streaming services are actively distributing fascist ideology is publicly not very well known. Neil Young earlier this year shone a light on how their podcasts distribute fake news and Spotify chose misinformation and profit over integrity. Unfortunately all major streaming-platforms have a nazi problem and none is taking action against it. Our idea was to proof just how easy the services make it fascists. With the captivating stunt of infiltrating the nazis scene, and manipulationg powerful technology – a story the press had to publish, that would create public outcry and finally force the platforms to act.

Situation:

Fascism rises again worldwide, but especially in Germany. The ultimate gateway into the scene is music. In the past, fascist music was hard to find, today it’s super easy to come by: streaming platforms like Spotify and YouTube host thousands of songs with fascist ideology – even worse, their algorithms help spread those songs. Few people are aware of the problem in Germany. And even though the platforms do know, no effective measures are taken to remove these songs or bands.

Brief:

Laut gegen Nazis, an acclaimed organisation fighting fascism in Germany, needed an idea to change that, wake up the platforms and get people activated, so fascist music finally gets removed.

Objectives:

Create as much awareness of the problem as possible

Activate people to put pressure on the platforms

Get the platforms to act and remove songs and bands

Strong activation without a big budget.

To remind the platforms of their duty of care and prove to the public how they spread fascist ideology, we cleverly used their algorithms to spread an antifascist song in the German neonazi community. Band and teaser song were perfectly tailored to the parameters algorithms use to decide which bands they recommend to which users.

That is how we created the perfect trojan Nazi-Rock band. One month later, the platforms recommended our teaser to most of the German fascist scene, and we finally released the entire song. Its true antifascist nature was revealed on Hitler’s seizure of power anniversary, followed by thousands of loud and angry Nazis on social media and an even louder public outcry and demand for more regulation on the streaming platforms. The press pitched in, and finally, the platforms started to act: over 700 fascist songs and bands have already been removed.

To create buzz around the topic and put pressure on the services, Laut gegen Nazis had to develop a good story: We made THE hottest newcomer nazi band, only for the fascists to learn they actually helped spread an antifascist song by listening to the band. We manipulated algorithms, the very problem, to break the vicious circle of more nazi music being recommended. And we proved the unwillingness of the platforms to take action. Our key asset for the reveal was our music video on Youtube, which we distributed after the reveal to the press. With the angry comments of thousands of disappointed nazi fans who told our story. The first phase of the initiative only targeted German fans of fascist music (predominantly male – 80%, between the ages of 15 and 39). After the reveal, the whole German public focused on left-wing mainstream media.

We invited chosen media outlets to follow the stunt closely from the beginning. They watched as we analysed real nazi songs and bands to craft our teaser carefully. On 30th December 2021, we released the teaser on Spotify, YouTube and other platforms. We infiltrated Telegram groups and used social media to make the band believable for fascists – sharing our success with our chosen press partners. On Hitler’s seizure of power anniversary, 30th January 2022, we released the entire song and music video. Inviting even more press to join when the nazis would find out about its true antifascist nature. We shared the final music video and the disappointed nazi comments with the whole German press both via press release and press conference. We proved how the platforms spread fascism, and the public outrage and the press reminded them of their duty of care.

In only one month, the algorithms automatically recommended our teaser to 120,000 real nazi fans – most of the German fascist scene, with almost no media spending. After the reveal, we activated over 200,000 supporters to pressure the platforms, and we started a petition on change.org. On social media, the German public and famous German Musicians joined our cause. As a result of our PR strategy around HetzJaeger, we succeeded with a media reach of: 1.7 billion. The major German quality papers, podcasts, radio and TV stations reported on our action. Most of the coverage was in-depth, with quality reports, interviews and comments on our stunt. Without exception, the coverage was positive. The topic awareness rose by +500% in Germany. Even though it was a mostly German initiative, media in over 28 countries covered it. ”Laut gegen Nazis” boosted their social media reach by +771% and engagement with their content by +1,400%, but most importantly, the platforms started to act: Over 700 fascist songs and bands have been removed.