UK bloggers and the rise of the alt-right

A new report from anti-fascist organisation Hope not Hate has identified UK blogging and social media platforms as an emerging platform for the alt-right, while traditional networks, such as the English Defence League, are fragmenting. While the positive features of the blogging world are numerous, this lends fear to the idea that, in a space which is notoriously difficult to patrol and where traditional borders do not exist, fresh opportunity exists for tech-savvy proponents of hate to flourish.

A notable feature of the UK alt-right blogger movement is its ability, as with the wider blogger community, to draw in large audiences and build loyal fan bases. The founder of Britain First, Jim Dowson, stands out in this respect. Now based in Hungary where his anti-immigrant group Knights Templar International opened a “branch” in 2016, he is behind a network of US focused websites which receive views and shares reaching the tens of thousands. Similarly, Britain First’s Facebook page has over 1.4 million followers.

This development is the flip side to the overwhelmingly positive nature of blogging and social media. The ease of information sharing means that skilful communicators who know the power of memes and sound bites can bind otherwise disparate audiences in societies where the right wing is on the rise.

Nick Lowles, chief executive of Hope Not Hate, said: “The fact that a young man sitting in a small flat in south London can create headlines in the US or a British extremist can use the Hungarian capital as a base to influence politics in central, eastern and southern Europe makes monitoring and countering these groups very difficult.”