How the EDL is using extremist influencers to fuel misinformation and violence across the UK
Over the past six days, England has witnessed some of the most horrific and violent displays of racism and Islamophobia in recent times, with far-right mobs attacking lone individuals, mosques, and buildings housing asylum seekers. Initially commencing on Tuesday 30 July 2024 in Southport, the riots have now spread across the country. While these actions are condemnable and, for many reasons, we should not waste our breath speaking about the criminals involved, it is important to learn about exactly how members of the far-right are currently organising themselves in England and just how insidious their methods truly are.
How did the far-right riots in England begin?
The rioting initially began following the tragic murders of three young girls in Southport. The victims, Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, were brutally stabbed in a “ferocious” knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga event. Following this horrific event, misinformation and racist-fuelled hate prompted violent protests to break out. This was primarily due to the fact that the alleged perpetrator, now identified as British citizen Axel Muganwa Rudakubana from Cardiff, was wrongly identified as “Ali al-Shakati,” a Muslim migrant new to the UK—a false narrative that was quickly debunked by the police.
Social media has played an integral role in fuelling both hatred and misinformation online, a concoction that has now resulted in multiple locations across England being deemed as unequivocally unsafe for minorities, particularly Muslim communities.
What is happening in the streets of our country are not protests. There can be never be "justified concerns" that cause people to attack minorities and places of worship.
— Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) (@MABOnline1) August 3, 2024
Let's call them what they are: Far right race riots.
How is the UK far-right organising on social media?
One of the most important players in this case is the English Defence League (EDL), a highly influential movement known for its Islamophobic views. Many believe the EDL should be classified as a domestic terrorist organisation due to its role in initiating violence and hate.
Burning cars, smashing up police vans & attacking police officers are the actions of terrorists, not "patriots"
— Mark Peel (@MCJPeel) August 2, 2024
Terror attacks like this will scare children, not save their lives
Enough is enough - Arrest the hate preacher Nigel Farage and proscribe the EDL as terrorists https://t.co/4U57Yp7IqL
English Defence League (EDL) are UK domestic terrorists and need to be banned https://t.co/TdP8hBMIwd
— Andrew S 🇬🇧 🤝 🇺🇦 🇪🇺 🇬🇱 🇨🇦 🇬🇪 (@athoms274) July 30, 2024
The EDL’s moronic leader, Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has several close associates who leverage their large following on X, formerly Twitter, to fuel hate and organise violent gatherings. The EDL can’t let it be known that they are predominantly behind so much of this vitriol, and so instead rely on multiple individual far-right influencers to spread the word, thereby dodging sole blame.
Lord Simon is a user on X who is a known associate of Robinson and a prolific racist on social media. Indeed, Lord Simon was one of the first people online to re-share posts which falsely identified the Southport assailant as a Muslim migrant:
If this is true, this cannot go unanswered 😡 #Southport pic.twitter.com/kvFdqEE3H5
— Paul Golding (@GoldingBF) July 29, 2024
Indeed, as emphasised by the BBC’s investigation, many people initially attending the riots went under the impression that there would be peaceful protests regarding condemning violent crime and discussing illegal immigration.
And while it’s unclear who specifically began the false narratives online, or indeed who within the EDL may be responsible for feeding information to outside parties, what’s evident is that this type of racist rhetoric spreads like wildfire online and manifests itself in very real in-person violence and destruction.
British far-right rioters have stormed Holiday Inn Hotel in Rotherham where illegal migrants are staying. pic.twitter.com/NCtyNlkWlH
— Crazy Society (Fights, Crazy, Funny, Viral Videos) (@CrazySocietynow) August 5, 2024
20 minutes down the road from me there are currently a large group of far right idiots attacking a hotel. Throwing bricks, throwing trees, throwing fireworks, ripping parking barriers down to throw at the building, attacking police officers.
— Jade 🦇 (@SpringFaeJA) August 4, 2024
Joe Mulhall, head of research at anti-racism research group Hope Not Hate, told the BBC: “There’s not been a single driving force. That reflects the nature of the contemporary far-right. There are large numbers of people engaging in activity online but there’s no membership structure or badge – there are not even formalised leaders, but they are directed by social media influencers. It’s like a school of fish rather than a traditional organisation.”
Where is Tommy Robinson now?
Coincidentally, Tommy Robinson decided that now would be the best time for him to indulge in a holiday. Catching a tan in Cyprus is evidently more important to the extremist leader than appearing in court in a case relating to a film played at a protest in central London.
Now we know Tommy Robinson is in Cyprus can we have Interpol arrest him and bring him back to the UK on terrorism charges?
— BladeoftheSun (@BladeoftheS) August 4, 2024
Robinson has denied involvement in inciting violence in England, persistently stating on X that he is not the one to blame… Yeah, sure.
This is the comment the daily mail have used to say I am responsible for the violence on the streets because of controversial posts like this. Talk about clutching at straws . They know their headlines will believed by many https://t.co/d7sPa2S4s3
— Tommy Robinson 🇬🇧 (@TRobinsonNewEra) August 5, 2024
This is why the establishment are coming after me.
— Tommy Robinson 🇬🇧 (@TRobinsonNewEra) August 4, 2024
I held the biggest patriotic rally this country has ever seen.
And as always, they called everyone who attended "far right".
Just as they are to protesting Brits.
First they come for Tommy... pic.twitter.com/Zx3izybezg
Front page of the daily mail. Anyone who’s followed my videos on here knows full well I have been calling for calm & deterring violence. Of course don’t expect the media to tell the truth . This is an attack to endanger my life by a corrupt media pic.twitter.com/0MaxMPptwu
— Tommy Robinson 🇬🇧 (@TRobinsonNewEra) August 5, 2024
UK government calls for emergency Cobra meeting to address escalating violence
Today, Monday 5 August, Keir Starmer and the rest of his government met to discuss the increasing violence across England. So far, several arrests have been made in different cities, with Starmer stating in a recent address to the nation: “To those who feel targeted because of the colour of your skin or your faith: I know how frightening this must be. I want you to know this violent mob does not represent this country, and we will bring them to justice.”
