Extremists using COVID pandemic to polarise societies - Europol Daily News (via HT Media Ltd.) THE NETHERLANDS: Violent extremists are abusing the coronavirus pandemic to polarise societies, spread hate propaganda and exacerbate mistrust in public institutions, Europol warned in a report on Tuesday. Since Covid gripped the world in early 2020, there has been “a notable increase in intolerance of political opponents, while the number of individuals conducting verbal or physical violence is also increasing,” Europe’s policing agency said. The rise of right-wing extremism is of special concern, the Hague-based Europol said, pointing to at least one failed right-wing extremist attack in Belgium linked to opposition to the government’s Covid-19 measures.