It's Been a Minute Nazism has entered the group chat
Oct 24, 2025
Odette Yousef, NPR's domestic extremism correspondent, and Gene Demby, co-host of Code Switch, dive deep into alarming trends of Nazi rhetoric within political circles. They discuss leaked chats featuring disturbing pro-Nazi messages and analyze whether these instances are growing more common or dismissed as 'jokes.' The conversation covers the role of social media in normalizing hate, the GOP's connections to extremism, and the need for genuine accountability and community norms to combat this dangerous ideology.
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Overt Extremism In Private Political Chats
- Leaked Young Republican chats contained overt Nazi praise, slurs, and explicit racist, misogynistic, and homophobic remarks.
- The messages were direct, not subtle, showing intentional embrace of extremist rhetoric.
Joking Can Normalize Dangerous Ideas
- Jokes and edginess create plausible deniability while normalizing extremist ideas in political spaces.
- Moving rhetoric from dark corners to mainstream platforms increases casual exposure and acceptance.
Platform Shifts Fuel Mainstreaming
- Platform changes have shifted extremist rhetoric into mainstream online spaces, increasing visibility.
- The anti-"cancel" campaign removes guardrails and helps dehumanizing talk spread with societal impact.
