ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates far-right actors and movements in Australia that exploit environmental politics on cross-national social media, including via ethnonationalist and authoritarian responses to climate change. It starts by outlining a conceptual framework of ecofascism, examining how various interpretations of the concept can illuminate the environmental priorities of far- and extreme-right actors. An expository discussion then outlines how ecofascist ideas have influenced the propaganda of recent white supremacist perpetrators of violence. The analysis proceeds to explore the political–ideological media environments from which violent actors and the wider far right arise, focusing on Australia-based content producers. The analysis sections are divided into an examination of the propaganda of dedicated Australia-based national socialist groups on the generalist platforms Telegram and Facebook, as well as climate change discussions on the white supremacist platforms Stormfront and Gab, whose contributors are of a more generalist far-right Australian ilk. The investigation reveals that climate change is not a prominent topic of discussion among organised groups; however, these groups do engage with aspects of environmental politics in a utilitarian fashion, exploiting militaristic ideals and settler-colonial ideological narratives to propagandise and recruit. Climate change denialism, accompanied by accelerationist and resignatory attitudes towards the impacts of global heating, is revealed as a significant topic of conversation among generalist far-right media networks. This finding potentially indicates the role of climate change denialism in facilitating far- and extreme-right entryism and recruitment.
