US White Nationalist Website MZWNews Claims to “Reject” Violence, While Celebrating Nazism
“Official statement: we’re National Socialists [Nazis], not terrorists!” This is how the news blog MZWNews reacted to a journalistic investigation that revealed their connection with the ‘Dresden Offline Network’, a Telegram group plotting the assassination of Saxony's Prime Minister, Michael Kretschmer. The statement clarifying their neo-Nazi political stance was supposed to be reassuring, but for many it was deeply chilling, especially for those minority groups repeatedly targeted by the blog.
MZWNews, or Mut Zur Wahrheit News, whose name means “(Have) the courage to speak the truth” is a German-language blog registered in Michigan, USA. It was founded by John De Nugent, a US white nationalist writer who describes himself as an “activist for the white race.” De Nugent has worked with numerous hate groups and is behind several antisemitic websites.
The news blog does not have an About section, but their political belief is clearly expressed in the statement, as well as their media goals. MZWNews considers the media portrayal of German history to be “largely falsified” due to the Western Allied invasion, they also believe the current Federal Republic is a construct deriving from that occupation. MZWNews’ “journalistic mission” is therefore “to present Germany’s history in a clear manner” and “to bring about complete sovereignty in Germany.” A quick look at their home page shows that the site is seeking to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology, proposing historical revisionism and spreading vile antisemitism.
An article published last January glorifies and defends the notorious Holocaust denier Ursula Haverbeck. Often dubbed ‘Nazi Grandma’ in the German media, Ursula Haverbeck, who is 93 years old, has been incarcerated several times for incitement of racial hatred and for denial of the Nazi atrocities. MZWNews supports her, advocating for her freedom of expression and writing that “her opinion and her questioning of the Holocaust is the result of her intense study of official facts.”
Holocaust denial is a recurring motif on MZW News. For example, an article in November 2021 contests the established facts of the Nazi genocide of European Jews, claiming that “the emigration of Jews from Germany is often portrayed in a completely distorted way.” Further, MZWNews blames Jews for their own persecution and states that a “Jewish declaration of war” was the reason why German authorities wanted Jewish people to “emigrate.” While it is true that until October 1941, German policy officially encouraged Jewish emigration – alongside intimidation, persecution, legal repression, physical violence, and imprisonment in concentration camps – the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum explains that the Nazis gradually sought to deprive Jews fleeing Germany of their money. Similarly, the organisation Anne Frank House states that, as the number of Jewish refugees increased, it became increasingly difficult for them to reach a safe country.
MZWNews also propagates dangerous antisemitic conspiracy narratives. An article on MZWNews says that the concept of the New World Order, which is a conspiracy ideology alleging that a secret group of powerful individuals is striving to establish global control, was planned by powerful Jewish people already a century ago. As proof, MZWNews extrapolates quotes by American investment banker David Rockefeller, former US president George H.W. Bush, as well as the Hungarian-born financier George Soros. Soros is also accused of orchestrating an “invasion of Europe,” an allegation proposed by the Great Replacement conspiracy narrative. These conspiracy ideologies are presented as real, and pose a dangerous threat as they fuel hatred towards Jews.
In their official statement, MZWNews says “we hereby exclude violence verbally and actively,” but this is far from accurate. Their promotion of Nazi ideology, which fostered the idea of an internal enemy and justified the murder millions of people, is an endorsement of historical violence, and many of their articles incite hatred against Jews in the present. Further, the connection between MZWNews and the ‘Dresden Offline Network’ Telegram group proves there is “active violence.” According to the investigative TV programme ZDF Frontal, MZWNews was involved in the group which was sharing instructions for the procurement of explosives and the plotting of robberies, terrorist attacks, and the assassination of the Prime Minister of Saxony and other state politicians.
The MZWNews Telegram channel has over 11,000 followers. As Belltower.news reports, the content on the social media platform does not differ from that on their website: “Adolf Hitler is glorified there, conspiracy stories are disseminated, and their hatred of Jews is made known.” When ZDF Frontal’s reporters contacted the US neo-Nazi group of MZWNews to give them the opportunity to comment, their request was published on the Telegram channel and the reporters were referred to as “Jewish press” and “Judensau.”
