I'd say its almost certainly true that foreign actors are playing a large role in encouraging its appearance in domestic politics. But the biggest driver is th

I'd say its almost certainly true that foreign actors are playing a large role in encouraging its appearance in domestic politics. But the biggest driver is the mainstream media who no longer have a business model (destroyed by the internet). So now they just generate fake controversy as cheaply as possible, to attract eyeballs for advertisers. And there is nothing cheaper than opinion. Hot-button issues like racism etc are perfect for this.