Hate Hidden in Holistic Packaging
White nationalist groups are increasingly infiltrating the wellness industry, embedding extremist rhetoric into products like soap, herbal teas, and nutritional supplements. As journalist Mark Hay reported, brands such as the Mighty White Soap Co. are selling “Day of the Rope” soap—named after a mass execution scene in the neo-Nazi novel The Turner Diaries, which has been cited as inspiration by several domestic terrorists.
“These products aren’t just edgy branding,” said Hay in an interview with ABC Radio National, “they’re deliberate vehicles for extremist ideology.”
The Rise of the “Parallel Economy”
Many of these wellness companies promote what they call a “parallel economy,” urging white consumers to buy exclusively from white-owned businesses. This economic separatism is designed to financially insulate extremist communities while advancing a white ethnonationalist agenda, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Their goal, Hay explains, is to embed ideology into consumer behaviour: “When a person switches their soap or herbal tonic for one of these products, they’re also being nudged closer to an entire ecosystem of racial ideology.”
When Wellness Meets White Supremacy
The wellness industry’s focus on purity, natural living, and distrust of institutions creates fertile ground for ideological crossover. “There’s a shared language between wellness communities and extremist movements,” said Hay in his ABC News feature. “Terms like ‘cleanse,’ ‘ancestral roots,’ and ‘body sovereignty’ are reinterpreted to promote ideas of racial purity and separatism.”
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue has also identified links between alternative health influencers and extremist messaging, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which intensified online radicalisation through anti-vaccine and anti-government rhetoric.
The Role of Social Media in Spreading Extremism
Platforms like Instagram and Telegram have allowed far-right wellness brands to flourish. Hashtags such as #sovereignhealth and #ancestralhealing often appear harmless but are frequently used in posts that subtly endorse white nationalist talking points. In a New York Times piece, researcher Annie Kelly noted how influencers use “aesthetics of purity and nature to repackage white supremacist myths about racial heritage.”
Combating Extremist Co-optation
Experts are calling for increased digital literacy and scrutiny within consumer movements. “People should understand that not all wellness is apolitical,” warned Hay during his ABC interview. “Sometimes, a product is more than what it seems—it’s part of a movement.”
Authorities and watchdogs continue to track these developments, urging social platforms to monitor and restrict coded hate speech disguised as lifestyle content.
