Homicide in Idar-Oberstein: Real violence from an alternative world


fact finder podcast

Status: 10/01/2021 6:05 a.m.

The killing of a 20-year-old in Idar-Oberstein by a mask opponent shocked many people. in the fact finder podcast Experts Anetta Kahne and Miro Dietrich explain why disinformation and conspiracy myths can lead to such acts.

How did the Idar-Oberstein crime come about, where a man shot a 20-year-old in a gas station because he was supposed to be wearing a mask? The analyst Miro Dittrich identified and evaluated the suspected perpetrator’s Twitter profile. in the fact finder podcast he reports on the findings.

Accordingly, the alleged perpetrator had spread right-wing extremist conspiracy narratives there and also expressed fantasies of violence. It is noteworthy that the man had already made this statement before the pandemic. It is a person who has been in a world full of conspiracy stories for a long time.

Alternative realities in digital space

This makes it clear that there are consequences if people slip into alternative realities in digital space, says Dittrich: “These are very often characterized by an impending doom”, by ideas that one would live in a dictatorship and that there would be no democratic ones More possibilities to do something about it.

If you look at the act of Idar-Oberstein, the concrete point was that the man should briefly wear a mask – which could not be a rational reason to attack a person. But because of these alternative realities in which the person had been for so long, this conclusion seemed correct.

Idar-Oberstein: Real violence from an alternative world

1.10.2021 5:00 a.m.

Stochastic Terrorism

Anetta Kahane from the Amadeu Antonio Foundation has been threatened for years. Right-wing extremists have already had plans to attack her, and her name can be found on numerous “enemy lists”. Kahane speaks of the violence in Idar-Oberstein as stochastic terrorism. That means that this results from a heated mood that is widespread and that has a very escalating effect.

Experts have long warned of possible acts of violence, and there have already been many aggressive incidents on the street or in shops. “You can almost wait for someone to pull the gun and do something like that,” says Kahane. That could “happen when someone is marked so much as an enemy or something is so afflicted with aggression that someone actually strikes or kills someone”. The alleged perpetrator is not organized, but it is a form of terrorism “that arises from the moment, so to speak. It is of course very dangerous,” said Kahane.

Action is played down and glorified

in the conversation with daily News-Moderator Mikhail Paweletz Kahane and Dittrich discuss why some milieus trivialize, glorify or depoliticize the crime – and want to turn the alleged perpetrator into a victim.

The fact finder podcast is there in the ARD audio library, on tagesschau.de as well as on major platforms that offer podcasts.

Idar-Oberstein: Real violence from an alternative world

1.10.2021 5:00 a.m.

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