![]() 4 The manifesto evolved from being a blueprint for social and political revolution to being an exploitive communicative propaganda strategy, aiming to gain personal notoriety and to justify and promote fringe ideologies. Hitler’s 1924 autobiographical manifesto ‘Mein Kampf’ (My Struggle) promoted his anti-Semitic racist ideology and grievances, becoming the forbearer of the Nazi regime. 3 Manifestos the likes of Marx and Engel’s 1848 ‘Communist Manifesto’ and Lenin’s 1901 ‘What is to be Done?’ promoted communism as a means of abolishing capitalism and the class system. Historically these declarative documents have criticised the established political or social state of affairs and sought to inspire novel or fundamental societal change on behalf of the oppressed or unconventional non-conformist element. ![]() The origins of the word manifesto can be traced back to 17th Century Italy, meaning a public statement or view, 1 written for the purpose of advancing a set of ideas, opinions or ideology. It is through these so-called manifestos that otherwise unknown individuals commit heinous acts, emulating those they idolised in the belief that they too shall be venerated, and, thus, the manifesto maketh the man. Mass shooter manifestos and messaging have become symbols or communicative signifiers of ideological allegiance to the extreme-right. The discourse within these manifestos predominantly outlined racist, anti-Semitic, misogynistic and incel ideologies, with various other nationalistic and white supremacist narratives interwoven with personal grievances unique to each offender. The publication of manifestos on mainstream and encrypted platforms became the exemplar for lone actors seeking not only to emulate these acts, but to surpass the acts of those they idolized. The livestream was stylized using a helmet camera to depict the appearance of first-person shooter games, adding competitive elements to the lethality of copycat offenders. Breivik’s manifesto provided inspiration for countless other deadly terror attacks, including Tarrant’s 2019 Christchurch Mosque shooting that was livestreamed and resulted in 51 casualties. The resurgence in contemporary manifestos conveying political or ideological rhetoric escalated after Anders Breivik’s 1500-page tract was emailed and uploaded to YouTube, outlining his motivation for the Norway attacks that killed 77 people in 2011. This brief will examine the surge in lone actor offenders communicating their grievances and ideology by way of online messaging and manifestos.
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