Show notes
Antonis Bougias is a key person in the project Golden Dawn Watch, which has a single goal: to cover the ongoing trial of Greece’s neo-nazi party Golden Dawn.In this episode I talk to Antonis about the rise and fall of Golden Dawn, the project and the media failures that made it necessary, how to measure impact, and the challenge of trying to remain impartial in the face of neo-nazi ideology.Antonis gives us some great insight into an unconventional but effective digital activism project. The far-right is gaining power across the world, so the story of how he and his colleagues are tackling them in Greece, is increasingly relevant for all of us.About AntonisAntonis Bougias is a digital marketing expert, grassroots journalist, and activist. Based in Athens, he tweets under the handle @ypopto_mousi.Show linksGolden Dawn WatchAntonis Bougias on TwitterRelevant articles:After murder, defections and poll defeat: the sun sets on Greece’s Golden Dawn (The Guardian, September 21, 2019)"Golden Dawn: the rise and fall of Greece’s neo-Nazis” (The Guardian, March 3, 2020)Greece: Far-right activists in violent clashes to 'defend Europe' against migrants (Info Migrants, March 9, 2020)Examples of groups that are successfully tackling the far-right:NSU WatchHope Not HateUnicorn RiotBooks that Antonis recommended:Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil PostmanTwitter and Tear Gas by Zeynep TufeckiChapters00:00:00: Intro00:02:26: The rise of the Golden Dawn party00:04:46: The fall of Golden Dawn, and the failure of the media00:09:36: How Golden Dawn Watch was born, and how it works00:14:27: Measuring the project's impact00:16:50: The challenges of staying impartial00:19:51: Far-right ideology, and violence, in Greece today00:21:02: An activist guide to tackling the far-right00:24:45: What drives Antonis' activism00:26:14: Book recommendations00:27:15: Outro