World
The internet fights back against neo-Nazi marchers
Twitter account succeeds in identifying torch-bearing protesters at Charlottesville rally
August 15, 2017 13:44
Twitter account succeeds in identifying torch-bearing protesters at Charlottesville rally
August 15, 2017 13:44A Twitter account dedicated to unmasking right-wing supporters pictured at the Charlottesville rally has succeeded in getting at least one protester fired from his job and has identified several others from footage of the violent marches.
Cole White was dismissed by the Top Dog restaurant chain in Berkeley, California, after his photograph was circulated by the @yesyoureracist Twitter account.
Here's a photo of the #Charlottesville killer marching w/ a neo-Nazi group (the symbols on the shield are fasces, the root word of fascism) pic.twitter.com/XJIl8AysOH
— Yes, You're Racist (@YesYoureRacist) August 13, 2017
The account, which has more than 350,000 followers, is managed by journalist and anti-racism campaigner Logan Smith. The site says it has been "exposing casual racism on Twitter since 2012" and this week turned its attention to photos from the white nationalist rally.
Mr Smith has been trying to identify the torch-wielding participants with a view to shaming their employers into sacking them.
Tweeting on Saturday after the rally, Mr Smith wrote: “If you recognise any of the Nazis marching in #Charlottesville, send me their names/profiles and I’ll make them famous #GoodNightAltRight”. Another hashtag #NameThatNazi quickly became popular too.
If you recognize any of the Nazis marching in #Charlottesville, send me their names/profiles and I'll make them famous #GoodNightAltRight pic.twitter.com/2tA9xliFVU
— Yes, You're Racist (@YesYoureRacist) August 12, 2017
Mr Smith managed to unmask Peter Cvjetanovic, a student at the University of Nevada, who was named after he was pictured taking part in a torch procession. The 20-year-old student’s involvement prompted his university to release a statement condemning racism.
Mr Cvjetanovic told the Nevada television station Channel 2 News that he did not expect his photo to be shared as much as it was and that he had received death threats as a result. “I hope that the people sharing the photo are willing to listen that I’m not the angry racist they see in that photo,” Mr Cvjetanovic said.
This is James Allsup -- speaker at the alt-right rally, Wash State U. College Republicans president, and one of @bakedalaska's racist homies pic.twitter.com/tjDqnHb7YP
— Yes, You're Racist (@YesYoureRacist) August 13, 2017
James Allsup, who is president of Washington State University's Republican society, was also exposed by the @yesyoureracist account. In an interview with the university’s student newspaper, Mr Allsup defended his participation in the rally. He said his university “should not be in the business of disavowing what their students do”.
Meanwhile neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer was told it was to be removed from web-hosting sites GoDaddy and Google after it published an article attacking Heather Heyer, the anti-racism activist, who was killed in Charlottesville in Saturday after being mown down by a car driven by an alleged Nazi sympathiser.
We informed The Daily Stormer that they have 24 hours to move the domain to another provider, as they have violated our terms of service.
— GoDaddy (@GoDaddy) August 14, 2017
The site was forced to transfer its domain name to Google after GoDaddy refused to host it on Monday. However, within hours Google had also rejected the site on the grounds it broke their terms of use.
The Daily Stormer was behind a co-ordinated campaign of antisemitic abuse targeting Britain's youngest Jewish MP, in 2014. The site provided a user guide to harassing Luciana Berger and created offensive images to be shared by internet trolls and sent to her via social media sites.
