Chris Johnson is an independent anti-migrant activist who dedicates his time to the methodical video documentation of irregular Channel-crossings landing around Dover, tracking the number of vessels and arrivals. He also posts more general updates about rescue operations in the Channel, and weather reports at sea. Johnson is out on the coastline virtually on a daily basis, and it is rare for him not to upload a video (no matter how short) to his Facebook page.

Johnson’s regular videos has made him a well-respected figure on the far right, but he differs from other activists in the anti-migrant scene in a number of key ways.

The first is that, contrary to the likes of Yorkshire Rose and Active Patriot, Johnson never appears in front of the camera, indicating that his activism is perhaps something less of an ego-trip than it is for many others in the movement. Instead, he maintains a rigid focus on both numbers and weather conditions for crossings.

Second, Johnson refrains from the usual levels of racist vitriol online that is commonplace across the anti-migrant and “migrant hunter” scene. By contrast, Johnson limits himself to making generalised criticisms about immigration and immigration policy on his posts, under which the comments will quickly descend into the usual bile from supporters.

Finally, whereas other activists in the movement with an equivalent following to Johnson’s would ordinarily be exploiting it as a revenue stream, Johnson appears never to ask his followers for financial support. Taken together, these mark Johnson out as a unique figure in this corner of the movement.

Early in 2023, Johnson appeared to make the decision to abandon his YouTube channel with over 1,500 subscribers, instead posting his daily videos onto his Facebook account. In centralising his content in this way, Johnson has been rewarded with generally much higher views and engagement this year.