The Digital Ecosystem of Prepping-Related Channels and Groups on Telegram. Results of a Network Analysis

Abstract

Prepping is a practice aimed at preparing for specific crisis events. The assumed events motivating crisis preparedness vary widely, ranging from unemployment to natural disasters or societal collapse (cf., Barker, 2020; Luy, 2021). Crisis preparedness is also a topic of interest for the far-right, whose social Darwinism, cultural pessimism, and apocalyptic thinking occasionally align with the beliefs found among preppers. Consequently, prepping discourses become fertile grounds for the normalization of misanthropic and anti-pluralist narratives.

This study examines the digital ecosystem of 23 Telegram groups and channels related to prepping, and analyzes which actors are referenced through forwarded messages. Network analysis was used to explore the digital environment of prepping groups and channels. The findings reveal that most of the ecosystem is dominated by actors propagating conspiratorial to far-right narratives, whereas a few outliers show little or no connection to these actors.