Canal at Night
Roanna Carleton Taylor
Posts
Social Media and Hate in 2021
In the last six years Resisting Hate have seen the social media landscape of far right and right wing extremism change dramatically. Right wing stars have risen and fallen, censorship has culled many others and the interest from mainstream media has shone a disinfecting beam of light into the sordid corners of the internet where haters and their hatred have long flourished. For those not following extremism closely it may be hard to appreciate just how much the last six years have weakened the unity and growth of the far right or to understand why a reconnaissance of the scene from 2021 gives anti-haters and anti-fascists so much hope for a brighter future. Back in 2016 the UK far right scene was primarily characterised by Tommy Robinson and Britain First. Robinson had over a million followers on key social media platforms Twitter and Facebook. He had access to PayPal for donations and to a whole network of people sharing his videos across You Tube. Britain First also had a massi...