About

Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian political system that places the power of the nation or state above individual rights. It typically centers on a single strong leader or party, promotes extreme nationalism, rejects democratic principles, and relies on fear and violence to maintain control. At its core, fascism seeks total power and silences opposition.

Fascist movements often weaponize emotional language to appeal to the “common man,” redirecting real frustrations into hatred, racism, or xenophobia aimed at scapegoated groups. Ultimately, fascism is a tool to maintain control and hierarchy in moments of crisis. Although fascism can take different forms depending on time and place, these patterns remain consistent, and its violent, repressive outcomes are what make it so dangerous.

At its core, anti-fascism is opposition to fascism, both as an ideology and as a political movement. People involved in anti-fascist activism use a variety of tactics, ranging from participating in protests and organizing events to conducting research, educating others, building strong communities, and speaking out to challenge fascist beliefs.

Antifa, short for anti-fascist, is not a single organization but a loose movement made up of many individuals and small groups who adopt the label while opposing the far right, including neo-Nazis and white supremacists. Their activities can include direct actions such as protests, community defense, creating art, building community, sharing information, and gathering intelligence to counter far-right movements. Antifa does not have formal leaders or a set structure, and not everyone who is anti-fascist identifies as part of it. Instead, it is a shared idea and a network of people committed to standing up against hate and right-wing violence, using a variety of tactics to protect their communities.

Antifa is not new. It has existed for about a century, with roots in the anti-fascist movements that opposed Mussolini and Hitler. The modern iteration grew out of the anti-racist skinhead culture of the 1980s and 1990s, which pushed back against the infiltration of racist skinheads into punk culture and disrupted KKK recruitment efforts. The version of antifa recognized today gained traction after white supremacist groups were emboldened by Trump’s election in 2016, and the movement continues to evolve with the shifting political climate.

Opponents of anti-fascism often claim that violence is central to antifa activism. However, this is misleading, as it exaggerates the role of physical force used in self-defense and portrays the far right as innocent victims. While some anti-fascists do use confrontational tactics when faced with direct threats in their communities, the majority of anti-fascist work is nonviolent. Antifa activists primarily focus on monitoring, exposing, and countering far-right extremism. These efforts have played a key role in weakening or even dissolving numerous hate groups between the 2017 Unite the Right rally and Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign. This effectiveness, combined with the public’s limited familiarity with the movement’s actual activities, has made “antifa” a prime target of right-wing misinformation.

In today’s attention economy, those who benefit from outrage rarely let accuracy get in the way of a sensational story. After Unite the Right, white supremacists became especially fixated on antifa, spreading a wave of viral hoaxes online. Far-right provocateurs have built careers on labeling and sharing decontextualized video clips to vilify the movement. In 2020, right-wing media outlets picked up on the “antifa bogeyman” narrative to undermine the grassroots Black Lives Matter movement after the murder of George Floyd.

There is always money to be made in the industry of hate, because if the ultra-wealthy can keep eyes on another enemy, the attention will never turn to them.

There’s a common conspiracy theory that antifa is secretly funded by liberal billionaires, but for the most part the activism comes from their own pockets. There is the occasional community fundraiser for things like food drives, shelters for the homeless, supplies, or mutual aid for someone’s utility bill. But nobody has to pay antifa to protest hate and injustice. They act out of their moral convictions that these things are wrong and should be fought, and believe that tolerating racism and other bigotry only leads to more harm.

Our collective receives no funding.

Our collective focuses on unmasking individuals involved in white supremacist activities, both online and offline. We work to connect real names and faces to those who spread harmful and hateful content under pseudonyms, as well as to those who bring that hate into the real world. This work deanonymizing bad actors often gets labeled as “doxing”, regardless if the word is accurate or not. We believe it’s important to inform the public about potential threats because, in general, people do not want to work with neo-Nazis or see them in positions of power. By exercising our right to free expression, we aim to shine a light on the actions of those who seek to harm others.

The First Amendment protects people’s right to express themselves without government prosecution, but it does not shield anyone from the consequences of their speech. We still hear the tired refrain that “antifa are the real fascists because they are against free speech.” In reality, we are simply exercising our own right to call out others. In a healthy society, being a hateful to others should carry social consequences, and our work is effective because most people do not want to be associated with hate.

Our collective is not accepting applicants but would happily encourage anyone who is interested in doing work similar to ours. Find a niche that strikes your interest, and start digging in. Nobody needs to give you permission to just start creating something.