How far-right trolls use leftist symbols to hide in plain sight
You’ve probably heard by now that they’ve taken into custody the alleged shooter of Charlie Kirk. He’s a 22-year-old white male from Utah, whose parents were Republicans, his mom was a social worker, his dad worked for the sheriff’s department, he was a Christian who was brought up shooting guns and who got a scholarship to college.
But he’s being sold to the public as a leftist because they found a bullet casing that said “catch this fascist.”
But wait a minute. Not so fast.
Here’s another theory –
What if Robinson isn’t some confused leftist who lost his mind, but instead he’s exactly what he appears to be on paper: a product of far-right internet culture who’s been playing a game that most people don’t understand.
The bullet casings tell a different story than what’s being reported. Sure, one said “catch this fascist” – which sounds pretty anti-fascist on the surface.
But the others?
“Notices bulges OWO what’s this?” and “Oh Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao Ciao Ciao” and “If you are reading this you are gay, lmaoooo.”
If you don’t spend time in the darker corners of the internet, this looks like random nonsense. But if you know what you’re looking at, it’s a calling card.
The “OWO” phrase started in furry roleplay communities but became standard trolling material – the kind of thing edgy internet kids use to shock normies. The “you are gay” inscription is basic juvenile trolling.
But “Bella Ciao” – that’s where it gets interesting.
“Bella Ciao” is an Italian anti-fascist resistance anthem from World War II. It’s been adopted by leftist movements worldwide as a symbol of resistance. Sounds pretty leftist, right? Except there’s a problem.
Groypers – the far-right internet movement led by Nick Fuentes – have been appropriating leftist symbols for years. It’s called “hiding your power level,” and it’s designed to do exactly what’s happening right now: confuse people about your actual beliefs.
These groups don’t just steal leftist imagery for fun. They do it strategically. They take progressive symbols and use them ironically while maintaining their actual extremist views. It’s memetic warfare – create enough cognitive confusion that nobody can pin down what you really believe.
The beauty of this strategy is that it works on both ends.
When something goes wrong, right-wing media can point to the anti-fascist symbols and say “see, he’s actually a leftist.” Meanwhile, the actual extremists get to wink and nod at each other because they know the symbols were never sincere.
Robinson fits the profile perfectly. Republican family, sheriff’s department connections, raised with guns, Christian background – this isn’t the resume of some antifa radical. This is exactly what you’d expect from someone radicalized in Groyper spaces during the pandemic years when these movements surged.
The combination of genuine political symbols with internet trolling creates exactly the kind of interpretive nightmare that benefits extremist movements. Older investigators who don’t understand meme culture might take the mixed messages at face value and completely miss what’s actually happening.
But here’s what really gives it away – Groypers don’t just hate the left.
They hate mainstream conservatives too.
To them, figures like Charlie Kirk represent “fake fascism” – conservatives who aren’t extreme enough. The phrase “catch this fascist” makes perfect sense in that context. It’s not anti-fascist resistance – it’s far-right gatekeeping.
This might not be about some confused kid who got mixed up in competing ideologies. It may be about sophisticated online movements that have spent years perfecting techniques to obscure their actual beliefs. They’ve gotten so good at it that they can commit acts of violence and still get their enemies blamed for it.
The narrative battle that’s playing out right now – leftist terrorist versus confused loner versus right-wing extremist – is exactly what these groups want. The more confusion, the better. The more people argue about what the symbols mean, the more they achieve their goal of making their actual ideology invisible.
What if when Robinson wrote “catch this fascist” on a bullet casing, but he wasn’t targeting fascism? What if he was expressing it?
#ratcclips
Well thought out take. Great piece.
Anybody think that somewhere…. … Tipper Gore is feeling … vindicated?
And maybe – just maybe Zappa is spinning in his grave w/increasing rpm….. given how well ‘free speech’ has morphed into the f-shist culture he accurately predicted?
Except: Corporations are STILL NOT People. And therein lies another rub.
#snark #contextiseverything #cantkeepup
Tipper Gore was a drummer, a lot of the drummers I know are usually right. Her
ex-husband has been proven, right. Thank you for bringing her up. I hadn’t thought about her in so long and Frank Zappa was always right, as was Robin Williams.
The manipulation of kids. My grandchild is in high school. So far they’re real sensible. Their parents are real sensible. Brainwashing is dangerous though. My late brother became radicalized by Rush Limbaugh‘s hate. We weren’t brought up to be racist or antisemitic. He became all of those things. He died before DRUMPF went into politics.
Generally agree – with some caveats:
Zappa had a lot of intelligence and not inconsequentially – a lot of Ego.
While that played well on tv – it could be pretty hard to deal with (being charitable here) interpersonally.
Also Tipper’s mom-heart & intuition may have been in the right place, but her aim was off and the message way too rigid. Especially on tv.
We’re living through the consequences of a lot of opportunities missed from well intentioned and intelligent people over DECADES.
Up against Stupid that Kills; it’s a tough climb.
Hope we can learn a LOT faster this round – that coalitions are KEY to survival.
See how the jackals are getting the conflict they wanted – but with each other.
Lets keep it that way and welcome the refuges from every camp that wants to flee the madness……
#packofjackals #donotengage
I just really wonder I know in the 70s they were trying to get rid of Dixiecrats, but I hope they’re kicking their own butts for not realizing what the heritage foundation was doing all these years. Anyway, even though I’m old, still my job to keep taking it from here! Good Trouble!
Been scouring web and he was not a radical left winger but MAGA
Yes, a deep maga ‘Gryopher’ He WASN’T an outsider. He was 47th’s & Repulican’s OWN!!! Good post!! Loved the nods to Tipper Gore & F Zappa Mary 🤣
Can you also rebut please the narrative that because his roommate was trans or because he was in relationship with a trans person over the last some months he became outraged about Kirk’s anti-trans bigotry? Please at least address those issues even if you think they’re nonsense.
Or publications that appear legitimate quoting some sources on the record or on background that he had become more politicized over the last several months.