Who is “Saving” Europe?

Loud electronic music, vibrant landscapes and the statue of a stern man. These are the ingredients used to produce a social media-driven movement with political undertones now growing in popularity. If you have browsed social media recently, it is possible that you have encountered one of these short videos promoting traditional European values while opposing migration and progressive views on gender and sexuality. Coinciding with the recent rise of the right in European politics, this movement appeals to social media users by inciting a sense of doom and urgency to “Save Europe.”

It all started with music. In May 2024, a video went viral, depicting people in Germany chanting “foreigners out” and “Germany is for Germans” to the song “L’Amour Toujours” by Gigi D’Agostino. Following this incident, the song was used at demonstrations and by Nazi sympathisers, replacing the lyrics with the above slogan, which was also used by Hitler. This led to significant backlash, ultimately resulting in its ban at the 2024 Oktoberfest celebrations. The song itself is about the artist’s love towards his wife, but coupled with other disco hits, it can be found in music playlists using the slogan “Save Europe.” The most popular music compilations are called “Aryan Classics” or something similar and they remain widely available on streaming platforms such as YouTube and Spotify. 

Continuing in this vein, 2024 saw the rise of short-form content using these songs on platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram. The average video juxtaposes clips involving historical European landmarks, nationalist symbols and modern-day street scenes, with footage of protests, immigration or urban unrest. The combination of nostalgic imagery with urgent messaging aims to evoke a sense of loss, framing contemporary societal changes as an existential crisis for European identity.

These videos are often structured in a way that maximizes engagement—quick cuts, dramatic text overlays and emotional music. The messaging varies, with some videos calling for cultural revival and others pushing conspiracy-led narratives about demographic change. 

What can be noticed is a rebranding of nationalistic ideologies under the guise of social media culture. By blurring the line between meme culture and political activism, the visual and musical style of the short-form content makes it more accessible to mainstream audiences, especially younger viewers.

The icon of this movement is the bust of a muscular male figure supposed to invoke a feeling of strength and resilience. The statue “La Force” is by the artist Arno Breker, who was a Hitler-appointed official sculptor for the Nazi regime in Germany. Breker’s work, heavily influenced by totalitarian aesthetics, was designed to showcase national pride and a rigid sense of cultural identity. Its prevalence in Save Europe content is no coincidence, as it aligns with the movement’s broader theme of rejecting a perceived societal decline.

The clips used often depict immigrants in a negative light, aiming to incite fear of a cultural takeover and impending doom. By painting Europe as being in crisis, the movement fosters a narrative of salvation from decline in order to bring Europe back to a “golden age” through images of nature and grand architectural marvels. What makes the movement especially alluring to audiences is the fact that it feeds not only on xenophobic narratives, but also on actual current socio-political discourse. 

Save Europe claims to expose acts of social deviance committed by individuals. In doing this, it often portrays groups of people in a negative light, aimed at bringing up fear and even hatred on a racial and religious basis.

The rise of Save Europe coincides with a turbulent European political landscape. The increasing number of people supporting the far-right signals a shift in the continent’s political landscape, and Save Europe is actively contributing to it. It is both reiterating existing rhetoric but also introducing it to new audiences. While the movement itself cannot be directly linked to any political party, its message is one of the most hotly debated in recent EU politics. Days before the German election, the eventual winner of the election, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), collaborated with the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) to pass migration policies, highlighting concerns that mainstream parties are legitimizing extremist positions on immigration.

An interesting recent development is the introduction of new rhetoric surrounding Save Europe. Instead of talking solely about migration and social policies, a lot of recent clips under the tag have been connected to the effort of European Union rearmament, using the quote “ReArm Europe,” in conjunction with the recent change in U.S. foreign policy regarding the EU. It seems the movement is evolving to the narrative of Europe standing alone, with clips ranging from portrayals of Europe as a lone soldier to calling for the federalization of the EU. With clips following the same format popping up in support of European rearmament, this could be considered as an adaptation of the movement to current political narratives, in turn making it more appealing to general audiences. At the same time, it could be a sign that other movements, such as ReArm Europe, are beginning to use the platform SaveEurope has created to spread their narratives through social media.

While Save Europe and other such movements are gaining traction, the platforms they use have not taken an official stance towards them. A large number of the accounts using phrases like “Save Europe” are short-lived, as they often face restrictions or bans for posting inappropriate content. However, new accounts with these names are being created all the time. At the beginning of 2025, Meta, owner of platforms Instagram and Facebook, even loosened its fact-checking and content monitoring policies. This change has allowed for a more unrestricted flow of information, opening the gates for misinformation, a prime tool for manipulating opinions. 

In the digital age, the responsibility of verifying and trusting information falls on us, the users. While content under the branding of Save Europe might not be falsified, it is deliberately presented with emotional imagery, evocative music and slogans—blurring the line between political activism and propaganda.

If you haven’t personally been exposed to Save Europe content, keep in mind that it is not the only politically charged content online. Even the simplest online meme can influence us, sometimes unconsciously. As this movement gains traction, its influence on public discourse and electoral politics remains uncertain. Whether it fizzles out as just another viral trend or evolves into a significant force in this rebirth of European nationalism depends on how political actors, social media platforms, and, most importantly, we, the public, respond to it. Photo source: Matthias Berg on Flickr