This fierce woman is finding and exposing neo-Nazis

In the last year, white nationalist groups and neo-Nazis have made headlines for their racist views and violent behavior. But seemingly “regular” citizens are taking matters into their own hands. Take, for example, “Fallon,” a woman who has spent the last few months attempting to find and stop white supremacists using nothing but internet research and persistence. Fallon is working with Antifa, an anti-fascist group attempting to disrupt the white nationalist movement.

In a recent profile that appeared on Salon, we learn that “Fallon” is actually a pseudonym for Jessica Nocero, a white woman in her mid-thirties from Ohio. Nocero is what the group calls a “doxxer,” or someone who uses the internet to find the true identities of anonymous users and then reveal their identities publicly — often to employers or local communities. Whenever Nocero isn’t at work, running errands, or taking care of her kids, she’s on the internet, outing neo-Nazis and exposing them to their peers.

In extreme cases, Nocero even publishes their names on left-wing news sites, which can leads to threats and harassment directed at the “target.” Despite the controversial tactic, Nocero believes in the importance of the work, saying, “There’s nothing more ethical than doxxing Nazis,” and describes doxxing as a “virtual brick through a window.”

Nocero also trains other anti-fascists and activists to dox; she says she has run 25 webinars and trained around 300 people since November 2016. She acknowledges the controversy surrounding it, but says,

"It's nonviolent. It's transparent. It's validated. It's effective. I feel like, for me, if there was one thing that I could say to the alt-right and to fascists, it would be: 'You don't get to be a Nazi on the weekend.' If you're a Nazi on Saturday, you're a Nazi all goddam week."

Some critics of doxxing say it legitimizes a dangerous use of personal information, and others argue that it only serves to radicalize neo-Nazis even further, as they feel attacked.

Nocero herself was doxxed and outed by a competing group, at which point she released a statement saying, “I am a mother, activist, worker, neighbor and active member of my community. I still believe that ethical doxxing of white supremacists and fascists is an important and effective tool in the Anti-Fascist wheelhouse.”

Whether you agree with Nocero’s tactics or not, this is inarguably a fascinating strategy for fighting white supremacy in these scary and often confusing times.