We have detailed the links between the Brexit Party and InfoWars conspiracy theorist Paul Joseph Watson, who has been retweeted by Nigel Farage, Farage’s press…
We have detailed the links between the Brexit Party and InfoWars conspiracy theorist Paul Joseph Watson, who has been retweeted by Nigel Farage, Farage’s press aide Dan Jukes, and Michael Heaver MEP a staggering combined total of 877 times (695 of them Heaver).
HOPE not hate can now reveal numerous further instances of top Brexit Party officials retweeting extremists, conspiracy theorists and racists, many of which have since been deleted. This includes:
The revelations are just the latest in a series of social media racism scandals to hit the Brexit Party, most significantly when founder and leader Catherine Blaiklock resigned after HOPE not hate uncovered instances of racism in March.
For example, MEPs Martin Daubney and Lance Forman have retweeted Mark Collett, a former British National Party (BNP) figure and neo-Nazi who has frequently collaborated with former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. The post retweeted by Forman features a picture of protestors following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, reading “Funny how the people who insist candles & peace vigils are the answer to Islamic terrorism are now ready to riot over a tragic accident.”
Farage, Daubney, Heaver, Jukes, head of press Gawain Towler and MEP candidate George Farmer have also retweeted Stefan Molyneux, a racist Canadian social media personality who, as the Southern Poverty Law Centre writes, “amplifies “scientific racism,” eugenics and white supremacism to a massive new audience”. Over the past year Molyneux has increasingly flirted with open white nationalism and antisemitism. Farage retweeted a Molyneux post in 2017 advertising his upcoming speech in support of disgraced Senate candidate and homophobe Roy Moore (since deleted).
Farage, Jukes, Heaver and Nathan Gill MEP have also retweeted posts by Faith Goldy, a Canadian alt-right figure who was fired from her role at far-right media outlet Rebel Media in 2017 after appearing on a neo-Nazi podcast, reciting the nazi “14 words” slogan on the channel of Scottish white nationalist Colin Robertson (AKA Millennial Woes) later that year.
Farage, Gill, Jukes and Welsh Assembly Member Mark Reckless have retweeted Peter Immanuelsen (AKA Peter Sweden), a far-right social media personality who has previously denied the Holocaust (although has since backtracked) and claimed that “Hitler had some good points”, and provided favourable media coverage to the far-right project Defend Europe. Farage’s (now deleted) retweet claimed “There’s been 3 bombings in Sweden now in just 5 days. And you heard nothing about it in mainstream media. Trump was right about Sweden.”
In addition, Jukes and Towler have retweeted posts from Laura Towler of the white nationalist site Defend Europa, and the virulent misogynist and homophobe Daryush Valizadeh (AKA Roosh V) (Towler has since deleted his retweets). Gill and Jukes have also retweeted Brittany Sellner (née Pettibone), an American YouTuber involved in the European far-right organisation Generation Identity, which advocates for a form of racial separatism.
Gill has also retweeted Tara McCarthy, formerly a prominent figure in the British alt-right, and Malcolm Jones, Brexit Party organiser for Hampshire, has retweeted the American white nationalist Angelo John Gage.
Jukes has also retweeted several posts from English Defence League (EDL) founder Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (AKA Tommy Robinson), the anti-Muslim extremist and serial criminal. The influence of Lennon on UKIP was stated by Farage as a major reason for his defection and the subsequent creation of the Brexit Party.
Farage, Jukes, Heaver, Daubney and Gill have also all retweeted posts from conspiracy theorists Mike Cernovich and Jack Posobiec. Cernovich first gained attention through promoting anti-feminism and misogynist pick-up artistry, and Posobiec is a former host for the Canadian far-right platform Rebel Media, and has been linked to white supremacists. Both Cernovich and Posobiec became key promoters of the “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory, which alleged that a Washington DC pizzeria was a front for a paedophile ring that stretched to the top of the Democratic Party.
Whilst the Brexit Party is striving to achieve mainstream acceptability and shake off the toxic baggage of UKIP, the party is rooted in dangerous and divisive populism, and has repeatedly been shown to harbour extreme and discriminatory tendencies. The prolific retweeting of extremists and conspiracy theorists by Brexit Party officials risks normalising the hatred spread by these fringe figures.
HOPE not hate has exposed further links between Brexit Party officials and extreme figures. See also:
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