The far-right group Britain First is urging its followers to move to a fringe social media site, after a crackdown on the group on Twitter and Facebook.
Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen, leader and deputy leader of the group, had their Twitter accounts suspended this week, with Facebook saying it was reviewing the future of Britain First’s profile page.
In response, Golding has now written to Gab, a networking site based in Texas, saying it has opened an account with them and is urging all their followers to go there.
Golding wrote: “Freedom of speech is effectively suspended in Britain … Twitter and YouTube are now openly persecuting patriots and nationalists. Britain First is looking to the future and our top priority is securing our support base and being able to communicate with our followers.”
He added: “This is why we are looking further afield now to up-and-coming social networks that are dedicated to free speech. The biggest social media network that prides itself on its commitment to freedom of speech is Gab ... [which is] very similar to Twitter, but their whole ethos is free speech ... It is fast becoming the social network for rightwing, Christian and politically incorrect speech.”
The email concluded: “I am proud to say that, finally, Britain First, deputy leader Jayda Fransen and myself have opened verified accounts on Gab and we are strongly urging all of our supporters to get on to this exciting new social network immediately.”
While Gab has content guidelines in place, it is widely seen as taking a more hands-off approach than other social media sites.
Gab is a private social networking site that requires people to sign up to post and access content. Its guidelines say “the only valid form of censorship is an individual’s own choice to opt out” and that its mission is to put people and free speech first. Gab’s community guidelines stress that users can filter or remove posts they don’t want to see. It says its policy is to follow all applicable laws in the US.
The website has courted criticism in the past after it was banned from the Google Play app store for hate speech. Posts on the site today under a topic “Christmas wishlist” include open white supremacist calls for genocide against other races who are referred to by racial slurs, calls to hang members of the US Congress, and an appeal for Synagogues in Europe to be bombed.
On Wednesday, the Britain First page on Gab had a post from Fransen that read: “Twitter will no longer provide a platform to those who challenge political correctness, Marxism and Islam. RIP free speech. Cheerio Twitter, hello @Gab.”
Prof Matthew Feldman, co-director of the Centre for Fascist, Anti-fascist and Post-fascist Studies at Teesside University, said that a crackdown on mainstream sites was leading to a growing movement of far-right groups on alternative platforms: “The real danger with this is that if these groups move on to these platforms they will have a space to mobilise that is no longer [visible to investigators] in the UK.”
Feldman estimated there were dozens of far-right groups in Britain. He said it was a time of unprecedented change in terms of social media and the far right.
The far-right movement in Britain is understood to be relatively fragmented. One of the larger groups is Britain First, with nearly 2m likes on Facebook.
Vidhya Ramalingam, founder of Moonshot CVE, an organisation using technology to respond to extremism, said: “It’s a worrying moment where we are seeing chatter, planning and movement from far right groups in Britain. Whether they are on Facebook or Twitter, or on dedicated sites like Gab, the openness of these individuals about their beliefs also creates an opportunity to find them online and engage in conversation with them directly there. We have tested receptiveness of far right audiences to online messaging to offer alternative perspectives, and have had positive results to indicate this is a way forward, rather than simply focusing on take downs.”
