From the Editorial Staff
The newspaper La Jornada
Friday, August 9, 2024, p. 26
Following the murders of three girls in Southport, northern England, last week, a fragmented and decentralised extremist movement has come to the fore, with old faces and new actors, activists and conspiracy theorists from the British far right trying to re-emerge by taking advantage of the shock and anger, the newspaper said. The Guardian.
Groups, individuals and influencers have spread misinformation on numerous social media platforms, as well as promoting protests that have led to violence. According to analysts, the radicalisation of some citizens during the period of health confinement due to the Covid-19 pandemic has also served as a bridge for some to the far right.
The Guardian He provided a brief overview of the far-right in Britain, which has left behind the structures of more traditional parties and has become a myriad of individuals playing diverse roles.
It should be added that, although Reform UK operates on another level, the leader of that far-right party, Nigel Farage, promoter of the Brexitand other MPs are also accused of spreading conspiracy theories on the Internet about the Southport case.
The main leader is located in Cyprus
The paper said Tommy Robinson is the most high-profile radicalised British activist, who is currently in Cyprus, but is among those being investigated by police for his alleged role in spreading disinformation.
His lieutenants include Daniel Thomas, who was jailed for an attempted armed kidnapping, as well as Rikki Doolan, a Christian evangelist who maintains that Robinson is not to blame for the riots and has merely been part of a growing push to inject Christian nationalism into the movement.
Influence even from celebrities
Laurence Fox, the son of an acting dynasty, has embraced a new identity as a political activist. Fox has said he was totally radicalized by YouTube to launch a crusade against “culture” woke (progressive) and political correctness.”
Sacked last year from the GB News channel, Fox has increasingly moved closer to the right, appearing on platforms with Robinson, whom he describes as a friend. He has shared false information about the attack on the girls in Southport with his 535,000 followers on the X platform, telling them: We must permanently remove Islam from Britain. The Patriotic Alternative party, founded in 2019 by former British National Party (BNP) activist Mark Collett, enjoyed early success in unifying the fractured far-right scene as younger, digitally savvy members presented themselves as a grassroots organisation. white pride which combined concern for the environment with campaigns against undocumented immigrants.
Britain First, now largely in the shadow of Patriotic Alternative, tried to emerge as a successor to the BNP with a mix of more traditional far-right street protests with invasions mosques and social media campaigns. When he was president, Donald Trump retweeted his incendiary videos.
Turning Point UK (TPUK) was born in 2019 as a spin-off of a pro-Trump American youth campaign advocating free market and small governmentturned to topics of cultural war. He recently clashed with the UK Independence Party (Ukip), whose interim leader, Nick Tenconi, is also TPUK’s chief operating officer. Tenconi was outside Downing Street on 1 August during a protest that turned violent.
Ultra organizations
Among the organisations that have seen a surge in followers during the pandemic lockdown is Resistance GB, a self-proclaimed journalism platform that has spread conspiracy theories and was set up by William Coleshill, a former Conservative councillor from north London.
In a similar category of self-proclaimed media outlets is Unity News Network (UNN), a conspiracy theory website run by David Clews, a former city councillor tory and Labor.
UNN has been one of the most prolific disinformation spreaders with its Facebook account, which has more than 100,000 followers. On its Telegram channel, with 20,000 subscribers, commentators have rejoiced at the violence outside Downing Street and threatened to kill British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, it concludes. The Guardian.