Nazi codes are – printed on merchandise – one of Nazi’s biggest source of funding. This merch is traded on most e-commerce platforms without knowledge: 5 in 1000 articles bear Nazi codes. Together with our client Laut gegen Nazis we created a unique collaboration between the biggest fashion players and their communities to combat the spread of Nazi codes – with the biggest databank against them. Users and companies help update the databank with new codes constantly, making it impossible for emerging ones to slip through. The result: 1.13 billion items scanned and 5.5 millions banned to date.

The extreme right disseminates their hateful messages and ideologies to the masses by blending in. They use codes that reveal their true meaning only upon a closer look, or to people that are part of the Nazi scene.

Most Nazi symbols, signs and words have long been banned in Germany and other European countries. However, the Nazi scene has been bypassing bans for just as long: with its own codes and abbreviations. So the banned word "HAKENKREUZ" (Swastika) became "HKNKRZ", "HITLER" became "HTLR" and "VATERLAND" (Fatherland), "VTRLND" – rendering all bans pretty powerless.

A big problem! These codes, printed on shirts and merchandise, are the main source of income for right-wing organisations – and a way to spread their racist believes. A challenge that lawmakers have not yet risen to and one that is becoming more and more urgent with the political shift to the far right in Germany and Europe.

The extreme right have been concealing their hateful ideas through coded messages. Codes – used in place of explicit far-right terms – mean lawmakers are incapable of banning their use. Giving Nazis the opportunity to use them on merchandise such as t-shirts and sweaters to finance the movement.

Our client, "Laut gegen Nazis" (Noise against Nazis), is a nonprofit organisation that stands against the spread of extreme-right wing violence and hate across Germany and Europe. Our brief was to create awareness for the NGO, educate people on existing Nazi codes and abbreviations.

The briefing resulted in a world-first approach to effectively stop the trade and spread of Nazi codes, extremist ideologies and hate on e-commerce platforms.

Nazis are using coded language to spread their racist beliefs. Our campaign „Rights Against The Right“ has already taken action: We secured trademark rights for Nazi Codes at the European trademark office. Taking the next step together with our client Laut gegen Nazis, we now created the biggest databank against Nazi-Codes. It’s designed to help all companies ensure and check that Nazi codes are not unknowingly sold via their shops.

The cornerstone is a carefully curated list of almost 200 codes, constantly updated through to the participation of users and companies. Experts of the scene ensure that the databank accurately and effectively exposes right-wing extremist messages. A specifically coded web crawler uses the databank to scan website for Nazi codes on command and in a matter of seconds. Making the databank a powerful tool for brands to ban sellers of Nazi merch from their platforms.

The campaign took more than two years to realise and research was integral to its success: countless interviews with former Nazis were conducted. Insider reports shared ex-members of the extreme right-political scene were evaluated. In depth data research lead to the most prominent online Nazi shops in Germany and Europe.

It revealed a strong link between Nazi merch and the significance of Nazi codes. This includes insights from music festivals, protests and political events: abbreviations are in fact codes for the scene. Further investigations showed that Nazi merch is funding their operations, making it the main source of funds for Nazis. Sold via online marketplaces for fashion, they are at an extremely high risk to being misused by Nazi sellers unknowingly.

Online fashion retailers and marketplaces were our target audience. They needed to be made aware and given a tool to stop the trade of Nazi-coded merch on their platforms.

Cornerstone of the databank is a carefully curated list of almost 200 Nazi codes and abbreviations, constantly growing by ongoing contributions made by our partner brands, insiders and the public. The databank lives on a digital platform where people can check, verify and add codes. It doubles as application programming interface that is accessible to brands to implement it into the backend workflow of their e-commerce platforms.

This way, Nazi codes can be detected automatically and even before these products are launched and therefore effectively prevented from being sold. To find out if Nazi merch is already sold on an e-commerce platform, we developed a crawler that checks websites for Nazi codes in a matter of seconds - making it impossible for emerging Nazi codes to slip through.

The initiative was launched on the social channels of all founding members. A press release generated momentum in relevant industry news.

Launching the biggest databank against Nazi codes, we set out to stop their spread once and for all – and we succeeded. Dozens of brands have followed our call to join the initiative. Industry leaders took it to X and LinkedIn, where people loved, liked and shared the campaign. It took relevant industry media by storm, generating a media reach of over 342 million and over 7,7 million social impressions.

More importantly, to this date 194 Nazi codes have been added to the list. Over 1.13 billion online items of our partners have been scanned and over 5.5 million items have been banned.

With new codes being added to the list constantly and an ever-growing number of online marketplaces joining the initiative, we can now stop Nazis from trading their merch faster and more efficient than ever before. And with them, one of Nazis biggest source of funding.