A self-professed “targeted individual” on Twitter apparently had his hackles raised by a group of German satiricists enough to try to use their work to gin up fears about “Antifa.”
“Ever seen an Antifa debit card that can automatically be funded after looting, rioting, and gang stalking?” Michael Barden wrote. “Here’s what it looks like.”
We contacted the creators of the card, Hooligans Gegen Satzbau — one translation of the name in English is, “Hooligans against Sentence Construction” — and they replied, “Of course, the ANTIFAmily Card is real” and referred us to their shop offering the “BASIC” and “Platinum” options:
The group promises that “BASIC”-level card users will enjoy benefits, including “demo money digitally immediately according to anti-administrative law,” discounts on fast food, and monthly vouchers for “black textile” clothing among other benefits. The “Platinum” card, however, offers more pointed benefits that clearly showed the satirical intent of the card:
- NFC (Nazis Fuckoff Chip).
- AAA pass (Triple-A).
- laboratory-tested Q-imitation aluminum coating (protection against chafing)
- Home office demo money instant payment
- Donates daily needs of adrenochrome, disinfectant and vitamin C.
The benefits are presented with “satiresfaction guarantee” with a disclaimer:
All statements without guarantee. Offers are only valid if the potential contract partner (s) is / are the owner of such a card and/or has/wants to. #HoGeSatzbau are not a contractual partner.
Hooligans Gegen Satzbau (HoGeSatzbau for short) also sent us a separate quote:
“With the ANTIFAmily©-Card you commit yourself to stand up against racism, fascism and exclusion at all times and to respect everyone equally – no matter what denomination, skin colour, origin, language or sexual orientation etc.”
George Soros… or was it Bill Gates?
The group also used United States President Donald Trump’s attempt to label “antifa” a terrorist group to promote the card on Twitter:
Yes, Mr. Fuck you @realDonaldTrump, we are all #ANTIFA provocateurs! pic.twitter.com/O67zJPKB9t
— HoGeSatzbau (@hogesatzbau) June 9, 2020
Given that Barden’s Patreon only has five subscribers, it’s possible that his original post was an attempt to gain attention by regurgitating the widely-refuted claim that “antifa” — that is, anti-fascist protesters — is an organized and violent movement rather than simply a descriptor for those who do not wish to live under fascist policies. The conspiracy theory, amplified by Trump, has spurred right-wing and white supremacist vigilante groups to appear opposite protests against police brutality around the United States, under the pretext of “protecting against rioting.”
In reality, it has been reputed members of white supremacist groups like the “Boogaloo boys” and the Ku Klux Klan who have been arrested in connection with violent incidents or plans to commit terrorist attacks — members of the very types of far-right groups against which anti-fascists, or “antifa,” stand.
- ANTIFAmily Card
- Rightwing Vigilantes on Armed Patrol After Fake Rumours of Antifa Threat
- Facebook Takes Down White Nationalist and Fake Antifa Accounts
- Alleged Boogaloo Member Called Extreme Threat; Bail Reduction Denied
- Self-Identified Ku Klux Klan Leader Arrested After Driving Through Protesters in Richmond, Prosecutors Say