Young people increasingly radical and defenders of fascism: social media as a loudspeaker for the far-right

"Shitty reds", "May Franco return" or "soon you will go to the wall" are some of the comments that can be read daily on different social networks such as TikTok, Instagram or X. The strong polarization to which society is being subjected in recent years has been driven by fake profiles (bots) on social networks, by the management of the algorithm by large companies for political interests, by hoaxes and by the discourses of some far-right parties like Vox or neo-Nazis like Núcleo Nacional.

As psychologist Àlex Letosa explains in an explanatory video on social networks, evolutionary psychology plays a vital role in young people and adolescents when it comes to accepting far-right discourses. "Adolescence is a stage that seeks identity and it is a vital need, and far-right discourses offer very simple answers to complex questions," he indicates.

"If you feel lost, they tell you who to blame; if you feel excluded, they give you a group to belong to; if you fear the future, they give you security and order," points out the expert. Furthermore, he emphasizes that the adolescent brain "seeks intense emotions and is driven by impulse." "Hatred, rage, and the us against them hook them a lot because they are strong and addictive emotions," he assures.

To these factors is added that of social networks, which "work with algorithms that reward controversy and division." "The result is that a vulnerable adolescent can end up trapped in an ideological bubble without even realizing it," he warns. However, he advises that the tools to combat this problem are "education in critical thinking, emotions, and healthy belonging is key so that they do not seek identity in hatred."

Women, LGTBIQ+ people, and immigrants, main targets

According to the study Right-wing extremism among Spanish youth: current situation and perspectives published by the Institut de Drets Humans de Cataluña, right-wing extremism comprises different groups such as neo-Nazism, neo-fascism, white supremacist groups, far-right parties, and the people who follow and support them.

As a general rule, "this ideology targets specific groups who are blamed for society's different problems."

Therefore, this study points out that the objectives of these groups may include left-wing activists or politicians, liberal or pro-diversity politicians, Black people, migrants and refugees, and LGTBIQ+ people, as well as religious or ethnic minorities such as Muslims, Jews, or Roma people, and feminist women, among others.

Regarding hate speech, its objective is to "dehumanize minority groups." In this way, they are excluded from society, the capacity to show sympathy or empathy towards other members of the group is limited, and inhumane treatment is justified, "from discrimination to deportation."

One of the most serious impacts caused by these movements falls on democracy, as it occurs "even when far-right extremists do not gain institutional power."

Social networks and algorithms as allies

In the dissemination of far-right ideology and hate speech, social networks play a fundamental role. The study's experts explain that these platforms "are used to promote ideologies that challenge the democratic system itself at an unprecedented speed due to their multiplier effect."

For several years, social networks have been used by a large part of the population as primary sources of information with all that this implies due to hoaxes, biased information, and, recently, the use of artificial intelligence to create fake images, information, documents, or videos.

Likewise, algorithms are one of the tools with which the far-right plays in its favor. "Algorithms tend to confirm their users' prejudices, as they are developed to present them with content they are likely to enjoy, and therefore, they can end up reinforcing their biases," they point out.

The study published in Nature titled The political effects of X's feed algorithm last February analyzed how the algorithm of the social network X, owned by Elon Musk, influences users' political ideology. In this regard, it was shown that the change from a chronological feed to an algorithmic one has managed to increase user engagement and favor their thinking towards more conservative policies.

Specifically, the study points out that this change could be especially verified in topics such as public policy priorities, perceptions of criminal investigations against Donald Trump, and opinions regarding the war in Ukraine.

The algorithm on the social network gives more importance to conservative content and makes the visibility of traditional media outlets much lower. That is, it is more likely that a user will see a video from a far-right agitator like Vito Quiles rather than a news report from El País.

Thus, the algorithm also causes users to follow political activist accounts, especially from the right. Finally, the study notes that even if the user changes their feed back to chronological mode, the previous additions continue, which causes the promotion of right-wing or far-right ideology to perpetuate over time.

Young men, most attracted to the far-right

Returning to the study by the Institut de Drets Humans de Cataluña, it explains that "the opinion that young men are more attracted to this ideology is also reflected in the fact that they are more present in far-right groups such as skinhead organizations."

However, new studies suggest that the role of women in these groups "may have been underestimated, as there are increasingly more women as leaders of these movements," as is the case with Isabel Medina Peralta, a Spanish neo-Nazi and Falangist activist.

"Studies show that right-wing extremism is an attractive ideology for young people, particularly for young men," the study says. This is due to several reasons, such as the emotional attraction that "is based on an 'us versus them' narrative, which leads the individual to act in response to perceived injustice against the group to which they belong."

It also includes "a sense of excitement, thrill, and coolness of the act, as it leads the individual to use violence as a means, often under the influence of materials produced by extremists," as well as "a sense of status and adherence to an internal code of honor and peer pressure."

In recent years, the increased use of social networks as a disseminator of hate speech has led to an increase in homophobic and racist attacks in recent years. According to data from the Ministry of the Interior, in the year 2025 a total of 2,417 criminal offenses and hate crime incidents were investigated, which translates to an increase of 23.6% compared to the previous year.

The case of the far-right agitator Vito Quiles and the legionaries

Last October 12, Hispanic Day, the far-right agitator Vito Quiles published a video on the social network X in which he could be seen with several legionaries and where they cheered the far-right activist with chants such as "Go get the reds".  

As a result, the Army opened an investigation a few days ago to clarify this conduct by the legionaries, as reported by the newspaper El País.

El País indicated that this scene occurred when Quiles boarded the bus that was picking up the members of the Legion Brigade who had participated in the October 12 parade in Plaza de Colón, in Madrid.

The disciplinary code of the Armed Forces includes publicly expressing opinions or manifestations of political ideologies as a serious offense, as military personnel must be neutral in this aspect at all times.

Thus, this investigation by the Army will decide whether or not to open a disciplinary file against the legionaries who appear in the video.

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