Hidden Fascist Symbols: Recognising Coded Language and Aesthetics Today

“Fascism is not in the past. It reinvents itself—through style, irony, ambiguity, and artifice. Its symbols mutate, adapt, and return when least expected.”

The Quiet Return

Most of us like to believe that fascism was defeated in the 20th century: that it died in the ashes of World War II, or was relegated to the pages of textbooks and documentaries. But history rarely stays buried. Today, fascist ideology has found new ways to seep into popular consciousness—covertly, persistently, and insidiously.

In the age of memes, fashion revivals, ironic slogans, and ever-shifting internet cultures, fascist symbolism no longer arrives wearing jackboots and goose-stepping. It arrives cloaked in irony. It wears luxury streetwear. It speaks in code. It hides behind jokes, tattoos, hashtags, and historical half-truths.

This blog serves as a heartfelt and practical guide for recognising hidden fascist symbols in modern media, fashion, and culture. Whether you’re a parent, educator, activist, or simply someone who believes in democratic values, this piece will help you spot what might otherwise go unnoticed.

1. The Power of Symbols: A Historical Reminder

Symbols have always held tremendous power. The swastika, the Black Sun, the fasces—these were more than mere images. They were rallying cries, identity markers, and instruments of indoctrination. When regimes sought to dominate, they started with the visual. When they tried to revive, they returned to it.

Fascist movements have consistently leaned into the aesthetic. Italian Futurism, Nazi architecture, militaristic fashion—all served to romanticise strength, order, and mythical pasts. And just as fascism adapted its symbols to the early 20th century, it is doing the same in the 21st.

What makes today’s fascist symbols especially dangerous is that they often look benign. They’re built to pass under the radar. And too often, we ignore them until it’s too late.

2. Language as Camouflage: How Coded Speech Works

Modern fascism thrives not through open declarations but through euphemism, irony, and inside jokes.

Common Tactics:

  • Dog Whistles: Words or phrases with double meanings. For instance, “globalist” may appear economic but is often used in far-right circles as antisemitic code.
  • Numeric Codes: “88” stands for “Heil Hitler” (H being the 8th letter of the alphabet), while “14” refers to the white supremacist “14 Words”. Combined, “1488” becomes a glaring signal.
  • Memes and Irony: Fascist content is often shared as “just a joke”, creating plausible deniability. Pepe the Frog, for instance, was co-opted by the far-right to become a hate symbol under the guise of meme culture.
  • Obscure References: Quotes from esoteric philosophers like Julius Evola or Carl Schmitt are sometimes dropped into online discourse—not as academic citations, but as cultural signals to fellow ideologues.

The point is not that every use of these phrases or symbols is inherently fascist—but rather that repeated use, especially in conjunction with other clues, can indicate deliberate signalling.

3. Aesthetic Cues: Fascism’s Fashion Forward Face

In many ways, fascism was the first political movement to fully understand the power of fashion. And today, it is once again dressing for success—on runways, in streetwear, in Instagram feeds.

Recurring Trends:

  • Militarism as Chic: Combat boots, bomber jackets, and paramilitary gear, worn not just for style but as ideological uniform. Brands like Lonsdale, Fred Perry, and even certain outdoor wear brands have become flashpoints—not because of their products, but because of how they’re worn in certain contexts.
  • Monochrome and Symbolic Simplicity: Clean lines, stark black-and-white designs, and minimalistic emblems recall fascist aesthetics. Black blocs, red and white stripes, or stylised eagle motifs often reappear subtly in clothing designs.
  • Norse and Pagan Imagery: Symbols like the Valknut, Mjölnir (Thor’s Hammer), or the Black Sun have been appropriated by white supremacist groups looking to tie their ideology to a mythic Aryan past.
  • ‘Trad’ Masculinity: The return to hyper-masculine, “traditional” styles—clean cuts, leather, aggressive postures—feeds into the idea of rejecting liberal modernity for a supposed golden age of order and hierarchy.

Let’s be clear: none of these items are fascist on their own. It’s the combination, the context, and the repetition within certain subcultures that gives them meaning.

4. Media Messaging: The Hidden Scripts of Fascist Ideology

Propaganda doesn’t always look like what we expect. It doesn’t begin with slogans and end with salutes. Sometimes, it arrives in podcasts, YouTube videos, novels, or edgy TikToks. Today, fascist messaging is often distributed, ironic, and algorithm-friendly.

Watch for:

  • Narratives of Decline: Repeated messaging about the “fall” of Western civilisation, the decay of tradition, or the rise of degeneracy. These are old fascist tropes repackaged for new audiences.
  • Victimhood Culture: The idea that straight, white men are the “real victims” in modern society is central to much contemporary fascist discourse. It flips power structures on their head.
  • Glorification of Violence: Whether through graphic novels, video games, or music videos, there’s often an undercurrent of violent retribution against imagined enemies—often minorities, women, or political opponents.
  • Romanticising the Past: An obsession with an idealised (and largely fictional) past where everything was pure, strong, and uncorrupted by liberalism or diversity.
  • Esoteric Aesthetics: Fascism often masks itself in pseudo-intellectualism. It appropriates art, poetry, religious texts, and history to create a sense of elite understanding—making outsiders feel naïve.

5. Online Spaces: The New Battlegrounds

Digital culture is where modern fascism incubates, recruits, and grows. Anonymous forums, gamified radicalisation, and algorithmic echo chambers help extremist content spread without obvious scrutiny.

Warning Signs in Online Communities:

  • Edgelord Humour: Normalising racism, misogyny, and antisemitism under the guise of dark humour. If challenged, it’s always “just a joke”.
  • “Redpilling” Language: From the Matrix metaphor, “redpill” communities claim to reveal hidden truths about society—usually involving conspiracies about Jews, feminists, or immigrants.
  • Subtle Gatekeeping: Use of niche references to identify who is “in the know”. Outsiders are mocked until they conform or leave.
  • Aesthetic Radicalisation: Soft visuals—pastel colour palettes, cottagecore aesthetics, attractive influencers—used to gradually introduce reactionary ideology. Especially targeted toward women and younger audiences.

In short: what appears safe or even cute on the surface can contain deeply reactionary messaging underneath.

6. Real-World Examples

  • Groyper Movement: A younger, media-savvy extension of the alt-right, often hiding fascist ideology behind traditionalist Catholic or conservative aesthetics.
  • Neo-Nazi Music Scenes: Black metal and some punk subcultures have long harboured fascist ideologies, often hidden behind cryptic album art and ambiguous lyrics.
  • Historical Revisionism in Education: Campaigns to reframe colonisation as benevolent or to undermine the horrors of slavery or genocide often serve as a gateway to fascist reinterpretations of history.

7. How to Respond: Awareness and Compassion

This isn’t about panic or pointing fingers. It’s about noticing. About being emotionally literate enough to spot alienation, loneliness, and desperation when it drives someone into fascist worldviews.

What you can do:

  • Educate Yourself and Others: Familiarise yourself with the symbols and rhetoric. Share that knowledge without judgement.
  • Intervene with Care: If someone you know is engaging with this content, ask open questions. Avoid shaming. Build bridges.
  • Challenge Irony: Don’t let hate hide behind humour. Ask people what they really mean. Force clarity.
  • Report Dangerous Content: Many platforms have policies against hate speech. Use them.
  • Support Counter-Narratives: Follow artists, creators, and educators who actively dismantle fascist messaging. Help amplify their work.

8. Final Thoughts: Hope in the Face of Darkness

Fascism thrives in shadow—when we look away, when we dismiss our discomfort, when we laugh off the strange image or obscure phrase. But we are not powerless.

Recognising these symbols, this language, this aesthetic drift toward totalitarian nostalgia, is a deeply human act. It’s an act of care. Of protecting our communities. Of refusing to surrender to the fatalism that often precedes fascist resurgence.

So let’s stay watchful—not fearful, but wise. Let’s teach one another. Let’s reach out when we see someone slipping into dark ideas. And let us never forget that our greatest strength lies not in purity or tradition, but in empathy, solidarity, and imagination.

Your vigilance matters. Your awareness might be the line between someone you love and an ideology that thrives on fear. Let’s draw that line together—clearly, courageously, and with open eyes.