Groypers: the alt-right group pulled into the foreground

They are a “far-right, online-based movement organized around white nationalist and ‘America First’” causes, said Newsweek. The term ‘Groyper’ is the name of the group’s mascot, a cartoon frog that's a “variant of the ‘Pepe’ meme used widely among extremist groups.”

Unlike other alt-right organizations, the Groyper movement “presents its ideology as more nuanced than other groups in the white supremacist sphere,” said the Anti-Defamation League. Groypers believe they are “working to defend against demographic and cultural changes.” They also believe many other groups on the right do not go far enough and “regularly confront mainstream conservative organizations,” including Kirk's Turning Point USA, for “not being adequately ‘pro-white.’”

The group’s main goal is to “push extremist ideas into the conservative mainstream,” said Salon. Groypers often target more moderate conservatives during “coordinated campaigns where activists would attend conservative events, ask provocative questions about immigration, race or LGBTQ+ rights, and post viral clips online.”

Groypers are led in part by Nick Fuentes, an alt-right podcaster whose ”anti-Israel, anti-immigrant, anti-transgender and anti-civil-rights views seem to have gained new currency during the second Trump administration,” said The New York Times. Fuentes has become widely known for his overt antisemitism and white supremacist views and made headlines in 2022 when he dined with then-former President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club.

How influential are they?

In examining Kirk's alleged shooter, some have “pointed to indications that he might have considered himself a Groyper,” said The Independent. Certain messages from the suspect were reportedly linked to the Groyper movement. Fuentes has condemned Kirk’s shooting and denied that anyone from the group was involved, saying on X that there's "zero evidence."

Whether or not the suspect in this latest act of violence was a Groyper, the group appears to be gaining wider recognition. Several Groypers have also been associated with notable violent acts, including the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol. One woman linked to the Groypers was sentenced to prison in 2023 for being “part of a group that stormed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office” during the attack, said The Associated Press. Fuentes himself was also present at the Capitol while the attack took place, though he did not enter the building.

Groypers “represent a new momentum within American white nationalism,” said the U.K. think tank Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD). By spreading their presence online, particularly among a Gen Z crowd, Groypers “hope to attract disaffected conservatives by exploiting schisms and grievances within mainstream conservatism.”

They are also a “continuation of some of the key themes commonly seen throughout the far-right’s history" in the U.S., said the ISD. Unlike many other alt-right groups, what distinguishes the Groypers is their “tech savviness and natural comfort with using the web as a means to recruit and distribute memes and propaganda.”