In a recent report, the Canadian Anti-Hate Network is drawing attention to a small, but growing neo-Nazi group in Canada that has emerged onto social media platforms and is apparently run by teenagers.
The group is an offshoot of an organization founded in the U.S. in 2013 as the Atomwaffen Division. There are now active cells in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and beyond, the Anti-Hate Network says. The federal government has designated it as a terrorist organization. In Canada, where the group, after a few name changes, is now called the Kernatium Division (KD).
This group aims to purify Canada by violently targeting and ‘cleansing’ Muslims, Jews and non-European immigrants, the Anti-Hate Network says.
The Canadian cell started with a handful of members in a Telegram chat room and quickly grew to 32 individuals before the room deleted by the app, the Anti-Hate Network says. The report found that the Kernatium Division in this country was made up almost of members claiming to be Canadian teenagers.
The report also found each time a new Telegram channel was created, the founder and subsequent other members would make statements glorifying violence against what they consider racial and political enemies, and share antisemitic, anti-Muslim and anti-2SLGBTQ+ messages, that also contained violent materials aimed at influencing and recruiting new members, many of who, were aged 15 to 19 years old. One, the report says, was believed to be as young as 13.
The Canadian group has also shared what is called the “Atomwaffen Program,” a neo-Nazi pamphlet that encourages the creation of small cells of individuals who would then produce propaganda, terrorist action and political disorder.
In one conversation with a new member, obtained and reported by the Anti-Hate Network, the unnamed founder of the Kernatium Division stated that the goal of the organization was to “kill Jews and immigrants.”
The founder claims to be a 17 year old Quebecer, but there is no confirmation of this. He has also claimed to be a former member of the Canadian branch of the original AWD. The founder has not shared any other personal information, the Anti-Hate Network report says.
“There is a lot of reasons to doubt many of the things that they gave about themselves and their biography,” said Peter Smith, an investigative journalist and researcher with the Canadian Anti-Hate Network.
Smith said the Kernatium Division drew his attention when he found that they had affiliated themselves with AWD Canada and attached an encryption app that can be used on the messaging service Telegram to form private channels.
Videos from the organization began appearing on TikTok on June 20, promoting hateful and targeted-terror messages that share images and footage from neo-Nazi organizations such as AWD.
“We are talking about individuals who make very clear intent to engage in violence and commit violence,” Smith said. “I think it is a matter for law enforcement and security to deal with.
“Extreme racial prejudice is often irrational or based in misinformation and conspiracy theory,” Smith added.
Canada designated AWD as a terrorist entity in February 2021.
The emergence of the Kernatium Division comes as there is an sharp increase in Islamophobic and antisemitic incidents in Canada.
The founder of Canadians United Against Hate, Fareed Khan, told Capital Current that the federal government’s efforts to combat the current increase in such hate crimes have fallen short.
“The issue of Islamophobia basically exploded after the 9/11 attacks. Basically, anybody was Muslim was seen as suspect,” Khan said, adding that the role some public and media figures played after 9/11 attack intensified anti-immigration sentiments.
“We have been saying this for years: we need to have a nationally coordinated anti-hate strategy that involves the provinces, that is funded at an appropriate level.”
The Liberal government’s 2022 budget promised to spend $85 million over four years so the Canadian Heritage department could launch a new anti-racism strategy and a national action plan on combating hate. Khan said he believes this is not enough.
He says many extremist groups have found space on social media platforms where they spread their ideologies and target and threaten minorities.
“Social media companies need to be penalized for allowing hate on their platforms, and the financial penalties should be commensurate with whatever their revenues are,” said Khan.“There should be a criminal penalty too,” he added.
In a statement to Capital Current, Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) underlined its growing concern about the emergence of such groups as the Kernatium Division.
“As the human rights body responsible for promoting and protecting human rights in Canada, we are deeply concerned by the recent dramatic rise in Islamophobia, antisemitism, and racism-fueled hate in our country.”
