White genocide conspiracy theory

"White genocide" redirects here. For the term related to the Armenian diaspora, see White genocide (Armenians). For the mass killings under right-wing regimes, see White Terror.

Anti-immigrant protesters in Calais hold a sign in French reading "Diversity is a code word for white genocide", above a banner calling for remigration. 8 November 2015
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The white genocide, white extinction,[1] or white replacement conspiracy theory[2][3][4] is a white nationalist[5][6][7] conspiracy theory that claims there is a deliberate plot (often blamed on Jews[5][8]) to cause the extinction of white people through forced assimilation,[9] mass immigration, and/or violent genocide.[10][11][12][13] It purports that this goal is advanced through the promotion of miscegenation,[14] interracial marriage, mass non-white immigration, racial integration, low fertility rates, abortion, pornography,[15] LGBT identities,[16][17] governmental land-confiscation from whites, organised violence,[9] and eliminationism in majority white countries.[5] Under some theories, Black people,[18] Hispanics,[19][better source needed] and Muslims[20] are blamed for the secret plot, but usually as more fertile immigrants,[21] invaders,[22] or violent aggressors,[23] rather than as the masterminds.[24] A related, but distinct, conspiracy theory is the Great Replacement theory.

White genocide is a political myth[25][26][18] based on pseudoscience, pseudohistory, and ethnic hatred,[27] and is driven by a psychological panic often termed "white extinction anxiety".[28] Objectively, white people are not dying out or facing extermination.[29][30][24] The purpose of the conspiracy theory is to justify a commitment to a white nationalist agenda[31] in support of calls to violence.[25][23][22]

The theory was popularized by white separatist neo-Nazi David Lane around 1995, and has been leveraged as propaganda in Europe, North America, South Africa, and Australia. Similar conspiracy theories were prevalent in Nazi Germany[32] and have been used in the present-day interchangeably with,[33] and as a broader and more extreme version of, Renaud Camus's 2011 The Great Replacement, focusing on the white population of France.[34][35] Since the 2019 Christchurch and El Paso shootings, of which the shooters' manifestos decried a "white replacement" and have referenced the concept of "Great Replacement", Camus's conspiracy theory (often called "replacement theory" or "population replacement"),[36] along with Bat Ye'or's 2002 Eurabia concept[37] and Gerd Honsik's resurgent 1970s myth of a Kalergi plan,[33] have all been used synonymously with "white genocide" and are increasingly referred to as variations of the conspiracy theory.

In August 2018, United States President Donald Trump was accused of endorsing the conspiracy theory in a foreign policy tweet instructing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to investigate South African "land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large scale killing of farmers",[38][39][40] claiming that the "South African government is now seizing land from white farmers".[41] Unsubstantiated claims that the South African farm attacks on farmers disproportionately target whites are a key element of the conspiracy theory,[42][43][44][45][46][47] portrayed in media as a form of gateway or proxy issue to "white genocide" within the wider context of the Western world.[48][41] The topic of farm seizures in South Africa and Zimbabwe has been a rallying cry of white nationalists and alt-right groups[49][50] who use it to justify their vision of white supremacy.[51][41]

  1. ^
    • Huetlin, Josephine (19 June 2019). "How Deeply Has Germany's Murderous Far Right Penetrated the Security Forces?". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2019. Andre S. (Hannibal) has views that echo the white extinction conspiracy that the Christchurch shooter propagated: when officials went to his barracks in 2017 to question him, he told them that 'Islam will be the No. 1 state religion in the Netherlands in 10 years time.'
    • Campbell, Andy (15 May 2019). "Alabama's Abortion Bill Is Great News For White Supremacists". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2019. Many white supremacists subscribe to the bogus conspiracy theory that white people are going extinct due to immigration and falling birthrates among white women.
    • "Hateful graffiti turns up in Winnipeg, alarming residents, Jewish group". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 16 August 2017. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2019. The words under 'Soros' in the graffiti are 'white extinction,' and this refers to a conspiracy theory that is common on the far right. One might even say on the alt-right, and among white supremacists and neo-Nazis, that George Soros is the frontman for some sort of Jewish plot to exterminate the white race.
    • "US higher ed: A system of meritocracy that never was". Mail & Guardian. 27 March 2019. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2019. The Trump administration – supported by many adherents to the white supremacist conspiracy theory that whites are threatened with extinction due to an assault by inferior people of colour through immigration, affirmative action and demographic changes
    • "Far right groups have Winnipeg supporters and must be opposed, says activist, former professor". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 17 August 2017. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2019. One of the graffiti here mentions Soros and then spoke about white extinction, and that's a very interesting trope which is being used by a number of far-right groups these days, to claim that there is a so-called white genocide that is being orchestrated by the government through immigration policies, by anti-racists, human rights activists and so on.
  2. ^ Herndon, Astead W. (20 June 2019). "'These People Aren't Coming From Norway': Refugees in a Minnesota City Face a Backlash". New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 August 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019. But for others, the changes have fueled talk about 'white replacement,' a racist conspiracy theory tied to the declining birthrates of white Americans that has spread in far-right circles and online chat rooms and is now surfacing in some communities.
  3. ^ "A splintered movement: How the far-right found a foothold on campus". The Ubyssey. 20 April 2019. Archived from the original on 30 July 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019. 'White replacement' does not just refer to a demographic change. It is a conspiracy theory spread by white supremacists who believe international governments are intentionally 'replacing' white people with non-white immigrants through liberal immigration policies.
  4. ^ "How the 'White Replacement' Conspiracy Theory Spread Around the Globe". GQ. 21 June 2019. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019. The 'great replacement,' also known as 'white genocide,' is summed up by its name: a secretive cabal of elites, often Jewish, is trying to deliberately destroy the white race through demographic change in importing immigrants and refugees.
  5. ^ a b c Wilson, Andrew Fergus (16 February 2018). "#whitegenocide, the alt-right and conspiracy theory: How secrecy and suspicion contributed to the mainstreaming of hate". Secrecy and Society. 1 (2). doi:10.31979/2377-6188.2018.010201. hdl:10545/622321.
  6. ^ Kelly, Annie (15 August 2017). "The alt-right: reactionary rehabilitation for white masculinity". Soundings. 66 (66): 68–78. doi:10.3898/136266217821733688. S2CID 149076795.
  7. ^ Thompson, Kevin C. (April 2001). "Watching the Stormfront: White Nationalists and the Building of Community in Cyberspace". Social Analysis: The International Journal of Social and Cultural Practice. 45 (1): 32–52. JSTOR 23169989.
  8. ^ Nathan, Julie (29 October 2018). "'White Genocide' and the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre". ABC Religion & Ethics. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  9. ^ a b "The high price of 'white genocide' politics for Australia". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 August 2018. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  10. ^ Kaplan, Jeffrey (2000). Encyclopedia of White Power: A Sourcebook on the Radical Racist Right. AltaMira Press. p. 539. ISBN 9780742503403. Archived from the original on 20 March 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  11. ^ "'White Genocide' Billboard Removed". NBC News. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  12. ^ Eager, Paige Whaley (2013). From Freedom Fighters to Terrorists: Women and Political Violence. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 90. ISBN 9781409498575.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference KivistoRundblad was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Futrelle, David (1 April 2019). "The 'alt-right' is fueled by toxic masculinity — and vice versa". NBC News. Archived from the original on 24 November 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  15. ^ Kuznia, Rob (7 June 2019). "Among Some Hate Groups, Porn Is Viewed as a Conspiracy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  16. ^ "Antisemitism & Anti-LGBTQ+ Hate Converge in Extremist and Conspiratorial Beliefs | ADL". www.adl.org. Archived from the original on 1 September 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  17. ^ Logan, Nick (5 February 2023). "How antisemitic tropes are being used to target the LGBTQ community". CBC News. Archived from the original on 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  18. ^ a b Pogue, James (28 March 2019). "The Myth of White Genocide: An unfinished civil war inspires a global delusion". Harper's Magazine. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  19. ^ Stern, Alexandra Minna (14 July 2019). "Alt-right women and the 'white baby challenge'". Salon. Archived from the original on 4 August 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  20. ^ "The far right, the 'White Replacement' myth and the 'Race War' brewing". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 12 February 2019. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2021. What is new is the concept of 'White Replacement' (sometimes called 'White Genocide') which claims that there is a global Jewish plot to 'import' non-Europeans ― especially Africans, Asians and Arabs ― into Europe, North America and Australasia for the express purpose of 'destroying' European culture, subjugating and ultimately decimating people who are of European ethnicity.
  21. ^ Saletan, William (7 August 2019). "White Nationalists Are Debunking White Supremacy". Slate Magazine. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2019. Crusius claimed to be fighting a 'Hispanic invasion of Texas. They are the instigators, not me,' he wrote. 'I am simply defending my country from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by an invasion.'
  22. ^ a b "NY Times reporter: The white nationalist 'great replacement' theory is 'startlingly common' in right-wing media". Media Matters for America. 12 August 2019. Archived from the original on 30 September 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  23. ^ a b Peters, Jeremy W.; Grynbaum, Michael M.; Collins, Keith; Harris, Rich; Taylor, Rumsey (12 August 2019). "How the El Paso Killer Echoed the Incendiary Words of Conservative Media Stars". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  24. ^ a b Moses, A. Dirk (29 March 2019). "'White Genocide' and the Ethics of Public Analysis". Journal of Genocide Research. 21 (2): 201–213. doi:10.1080/14623528.2019.1599493. S2CID 132394485.
  25. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference PerryB was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ "The dangerous myth of 'white genocide' in South Africa". Southern Poverty Law Center. 23 August 2018. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  27. ^ Cite error: The named reference RisingE was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference White Extinction Panic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ Hansi Lo Wang and Ruth Talbot, "This Is How The White Population Is Actually Changing Based On New Census Data" NPR (Aug. 22, 2021).
  30. ^ Walsh, Joe (22 May 2018). "No, Katie Hopkins, there is no white genocide in South Africa". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  31. ^ Cite error: The named reference TaylorK was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  32. ^ Cite error: The named reference DrFB was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  33. ^ a b "Day of the trope: White nationalist memes thrive on Reddit's r/The_Donald". Southern Poverty Law Center. 19 April 2018. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  34. ^ "Why the alt-right want to call Australia home". Overland. 18 July 2018. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  35. ^ Poulter, James (12 March 2018). "Meet the Snowflakes Who Are the New Face of Race Hate". Vice. Archived from the original on 22 June 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  36. ^ "How the swarm of white extremism spreads itself online". The Spinoff. 28 March 2019. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019. In French, introduced by Renaud Camus, it is called Le Grand Remplacement (The Great Replacement). It comes in different guises, such as the Eurabia thesis that argues that Muslims are 'invading' Europe and are a fifth column waiting to take control of the continent. In English, the most famous iteration is 'white genocide'
  37. ^ "A white nationalist conspiracy theory was at the heart of the New Zealand shooting. This isn't the first time it's been associated with terror attacks". Business Insider. 15 March 2019. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2019. Breivik wrote in his 1,518-page manifesto that Islamic immigrants and the European Union were on a mission to create 'Eurabia.' The idea was a variation on the white genocide conspiracy theory, which purported that anti-Israel powers were attempting to 'Arabise' Europe.
  38. ^ Trump, Donald [@realDonaldTrump] (22 August 2018). "I have asked Secretary of State @SecPompeo to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large scale killing of farmers. South African Government is now seizing land from white farmers @TuckerCarlson @FoxNews" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 23 August 2018 – via Twitter.
  39. ^ "South Africa blasts Trump over racially divisive tweet". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 23 August 2018. Archived from the original on 14 March 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  40. ^ Nakamura, David; Hudson, John; Stanley-Becker, Isaac (23 August 2018). "'Dangerous and poisoned': Critics blast Trump for endorsing white nationalist conspiracy theory on South Africa". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  41. ^ a b c "Trump Echoes Neo-Nazi Propaganda About South Africa (That He Heard on Fox News)". New York. 23 August 2018. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2020. White nationalists in the West love the idea that their 'people' are facing imminent threat of oppression and/or genocide. This fantasy serves to justify white supremacy, by positing white dominance as the only alternative to white subjugation.
  42. ^ Chung, Frank (25 March 2017). "'Bury them alive!': White South Africans fear for their future as horrific farm attacks escalate". News Corp Australia. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  43. ^ "Trump Cites False Claims of Widespread Attacks on White Farmers in South Africa". The New York Times. 23 August 2018. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  44. ^ "South Africa hits back at Trump over land seizure tweet". CBS News. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  45. ^ "Fox's Carlson stunned by reaction to stories on South Africa". AP News. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  46. ^ Burke, Jason; Smith, David (23 August 2018). "Donald Trump's land seizures tweet sparks anger in South Africa". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  47. ^ "Tucker Carlson, those South African white rights activists aren't telling you the whole truth". The Washington Post. 2019. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021.
  48. ^ "'Castrate their corpses', professor says of GOP senators. White 'genocide!' Tucker Carlson cries". The Washington Post. 2 October 2018. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2018. Carlson had been flogging the issue of land seizures in South Africa – a known proxy issue for those who believe in 'white genocide'.
  49. ^ "Trump under fire for claim of 'large scale killing' of white farmers in South Africa". NBC News. 23 August 2018. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  50. ^ "Trump's tweet echoing white nationalist propaganda about South African farmers, explained". Vox. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  51. ^ Wilson, Jason (24 August 2018). "White farmers: how a far-right idea was planted in Donald Trump's mind". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2018. ...South Africa and Zimbabwe in particular have exerted a fascination on the racist far right because in the mind of white nationalists, they show what happens to a white minority after they lose control of countries they once ruled.