Xavier Naidoo surprised on Tuesday evening with a video in which he renounced conspiracy ideologies and apologized. A political researcher ranks how believable this video really is.
Jan Rathje studied in Potsdam and Greifswald with a focus on right-wing extremism and political theory. From 2013 to 2014 he worked in mobile advice against right-wing extremism in Schleswig-Holstein. Between 2015 and 2020 he led several projects on conspiracy ideologies and antisemitism for the Amadeu Antonio Foundation.
At the non-profit “Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy” (CeMAS) he researches, among other things, online right-wing extremism, conspiracy ideologies, anti-Semitism and sovereignty in Germany and the USA. In an interview, he explains how he perceived Xavier Naidoo’s video.
Mr. Rathje, Xavier Naidoo caused a stir with an apology for conspiracy stories. What exactly has his Telegram channel been about in recent years?
Xavier Naidoo has posted many different conspiracy stories on the Telegram fan channel that he helped manage. There was a great deal to be found there: On the one hand, the “Qanon conspiracy stories”, posts about “flat earth”, but he also advertised the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” with a post, which was hardcore anti-Semitism.
In addition, there was content that reached into the right-wing terrorist bubble. He covered a very wide spectrum and not just shared conspiracy stories related to COVID-19.
The “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” are…
They are like a blueprint for modern conspiracy stories. The “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” is a compiled document published at the end of the 19th century in which Jews were accused of carrying out a world conspiracy using various means.
For example, they allegedly wanted to use epidemics to reduce the population, control all parties in democracy, control the press, control the economy and so on.
Because of this reference to anti-Semitism, the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” are also forbidden. However, banned documents always have a special aura, especially in conspiracy ideological circles: namely, that they are banned because “secret truths” could be found there.
Naidoo himself explicitly distances himself from “nationalism, homophobia, racism, anti-Semitism”. How credible is this statement in the context of such publications?
Naidoo has maintained for years that he does not make racist or anti-Semitic comments, despite being proven otherwise. Naidoo has his own idea of how anti-Semitism works. After that he can then also distance himself from anti-Semitism and in this view he would not have acted anti-Semitically.
The opposite is true when using established scholarly definitions of antisemitism.
Did he say specifically what he wanted to distance himself from?
No, Xavier Naidoo kept his distancing video very general and within the conspiracy ideological milieu it was understood in such a way that he actually sticks to his basic convictions. So it really remains to be seen how Naidoo will behave in the future.
In the scene, he was even accused of his video that he would use terms that were not his own, that he would read them..
… he has, among other things, of “conspiracystories‘ spoken instead of the more common word ‘conspiracytheories“. A term that has prevailed, especially in the trade press.
It is interesting that he used the term “conspiracy narrative”. Of course he didn’t say “believers in conspiracies”, that opens a few more windows for him. But it does suggest that he has done some research and reading before, or at least the person who worked with him to draft that statement. He knows the meaning of the statement and will certainly have discussed it with someone.
Still, it came as a surprise to many people that he recorded this video.
For me personally, that was quite a surprise. It doesn’t happen every day that people dissociate themselves so prominently from the conspiracy ideological milieu in the form of a video. The whole thing was not to be expected, but it seems quite understandable that he used this time for reflection while he was not active and was not available for close confidants.
The topic of the Ukraine war in particular generates contradictions within the conspiracy ideological milieu. One can see quite clearly that within the milieu of conspiracy ideology, a pro-Russian position is being taken by the channels with the widest reach, and this can create contradictions among those who cannot get used to a 100% Russian position.
Due to these contradictions, these people then have to deal with whether they did not believe people who generally represent problematic positions.
According to Naidoo, he was “caught in a bubble” in the search for truth. How easy is it anyway to work your way back out of it?
One indicator that he has changed his mind is the relationship to his immediate relatives, i.e. to his family and his wife. That sounds quite credible to me, because we have seen in the case of those who have left conspiracy-ideological milieus that the personal immediate field plays a very special role here.
Conversely, it is very important that people receive support from relatives, friends and acquaintances. This is a long process that takes a lot of energy. If you look at Naidoo, it seems to have been going on with him for a while.
What can a family member do in such cases?
It is important that these people receive opposition from those who are not active in the milieu of conspiracy ideology. Especially from close people who cannot immediately be labeled as “part of the lying press” or “part of the conspiracy”. There, the probability is higher that people from the milieu of conspiracy ideology might still be confronted with contradictions.
As a family member, can one contact certain offices in such cases?
There are various positions that have been created in recent years. For one, there is “Federal Association of Mobile Advice Centers Against Right-Wing Extremism”who can then place them in the respective regional advisory teams. In Berlin, for example, there is a specialist agency called “Veritas”which advises specifically on the subject of conspiracy ideologies.
At the same time, given the scale of the conspiracy ideology milieu and the activity it is exhibiting, these bodies also need further support, both financial and human.