Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Palestinian media: Israeli occupation forces storm the Old City in the center of Nablus, occupied West Bank
Local sources to Al Mayadeen: Sudanese army forces drones strike town of Kabkabiya, North Darfur.
Syrian Observatory: The plane is loaded with air defense systems and heavy weapons as part of US troop reinforcements to its bases in northeastern Syria
Syrian Observatory: US cargo plane lands with two military helicopters at Kharab al-Jir base in the countryside of Rmeilan, north of Hasakah
Miguel Díaz-Canel to Gustavo Petro: US seeks to reimpose the Monroe Doctrine in its relations with sovereign states in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades, the military wing of the PFLP, says they handed over the body of an Israeli captive to the Israeli occupation forces in implementation of the clauses of the ceasefire agreement.
Al Mayadeen correspondent: Israeli drones are flying over the presidential palace in Baabda, Mount Lebanon, and over the skies of the capital, Beirut, and its suburbs.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli warplanes launch a series of raids on the al-Mahmoudiya and Jarmaq areas
Trump reiterates proposal for Russia and Ukraine to stop at current front line, negotiate later
Reuters: Trump says no discussion regarding Ukraine ceding Donbas to Russia

Facebook far-right groups pushing radicalization in UK: The Guardian

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Guardian
  • 28 Sep 2025 13:56
  • 1 Shares
5 Min Read

A network of far-right Facebook groups is spreading racist disinformation and fueling online radicalisation across the UK, a Guardian investigation reveals.

Listen
  • x
  • The Facebook app icon is seen on a smartphone, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, in Marple Township, Pa (AP)
    The Facebook app icon is seen on a smartphone, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, in Marple Township, Pennsylvania. (AP)

A network of far-right Facebook groups is exposing hundreds of thousands of Britons to racist and extremist disinformation and has become an engine of radicalisation, a The Guardian investigation published on Sunday revealed.

Experts who reviewed The Guardian’s months-long data project said such groups help to create an online environment that can radicalise people into taking extreme actions, such as last year’s summer riots, which targeted hotels housing migrants in the United Kingdom.

The network was exposed just weeks after 150,000 protesters from all over the country descended on London for a far-right protest, the scale of which dwarfed police estimates and whose size and toxicity shocked politicians. The Guardian’s data projects team identified the groups from the profiles of those who took part in the riots that followed the killing of three girls in Southport last summer.

An ecosystem of misinformation and far-right cliches

The Guardian analyzed more than 51,000 text posts from three of the largest public groups in the network, which found hundreds of posts that experts said were peppered with misinformation and conspiracy theories, containing far-right tropes, the use of racist slurs, and evidence of white nativism.

A key element of the network’s success is the groups’ admins: a team of mostly middle-aged Facebook users responsible for the invites to the group, the moderation of often far-right language, and the spread of rumour and misinformation, which they repost to other groups in the network. Primarily located in the southeast of England and the Midlands, the research showed these individuals are scattered across England and Wales.

Hailing from vastly different social backgrounds and home lives, their residences range from a large seaside townhouse on the south coast to a neat new-build on the outskirts of Loughborough and a small red-brick council house in urban Birmingham.

While most contacted admins declined to speak, one moderator in a Leicestershire village, who oversees six groups with nearly 400,000 members, including “Nigel Farage for PM,” stated from her doorstep that far-right users are "deleted and blocked".

Related News

EU to face reckoning for Gaza inaction: The Guardian

'Deadly scheme': Gaza civilians at aid sites met with random gunfire

Contrary to her claims, the investigation found swathes of examples of extreme far-right posts, including disinformation and well-known debunked conspiracy narratives, some of which were spread word-for-word or with slight variations in writing across multiple connecting groups.

Immigrants face the most hateful posts

The rhetoric against immigrants is intensely bitter and angry, according to The Guardian, relying on demonizing and dehumanizing slurs such as "criminal," "parasites," "primitive," and "lice." The characterization of Muslims includes a range of hostile descriptions, labeling them as "barbaric and intolerant," "an army," "archaic," "medieval," and "not compatible with the UK way of life."

“We need a humongous nit comb. To scrape the length and breast [sic] of the uk, to get rid of all the blood sucking lice out of our country once and for all!!” one post cited by The Guardian reads.

“Our own government has put us all at risk by allowing these primitive minded people onto our land," another post says.

“If you think immigration is bad. Then just wait until all our towns and cities are full! And they start leaching out into our quaint beautiful quiet little villages and bringing all their crimes and third world culture with them," one of the users posted.

Questionable moderation policies

Months after Meta announced sweeping content moderation changes, the content shared in the groups raises fresh concerns about these very policies.

In the past, far-right ideas online emerged from platforms more readily associated with that part of the political spectrum, such as 4chan, Parler, and Telegram, which typically attracted younger audiences.

According to Dr Julia Ebner, a radicalization researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and an expert on online radicalisation, such spaces act as a breeding ground for extremist ideologies and "definitely play a role in the radicalisation of individuals".

“What is new is that the online spaces amplify a lot of these dynamics,” she emphasized to The Guardian.

“The algorithmic amplification, the speed at which people can end up in a radicalisation engine. Then there are the new technologies from fabricated videos to deepfakes to bot automation," she noted, adding that that the digital age has created a dangerous dynamic where people inherently trust content from individual influencers over established institutions.

After reviewing the three groups used in The Guardian's analysis, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, confirmed through a spokesperson that the content did not violate its hateful conduct policy.

  • The Guardian
  • Facebook
  • UK far-right rallies
  • United Kingdom
  • Far-Right
  • UK far-right
  • Far-right radicalization

Most Read

Iran strikes secret Israeli-US bunker under Tel Aviv high-rise

Tel Aviv high-rise struck by Iran hid Site 81, secret US-Israeli base

  • Politics
  • 14 Oct 2025
Yemeni Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Abd al-Karim al-Ghamari , during a ceremony in an undisclosed locations in Yemen, undate (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemeni Armed Forces mourn martyred Chief of Staff al-Ghamari

  • Politics
  • 16 Oct 2025
Israeli occupation violates Gaza ceasefire, killing seven Palestinians.

Israeli occupation violates Gaza ceasefire, kills seven Palestinians

  • Politics
  • 14 Oct 2025
Zionists Fundamentally Misread Iran Due To Their Own Echo Chambers

Zionists fundamentally misread Iran due to their own echo chambers

  • Analysis
  • 15 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
UK blocks release of documents on secretive Lammy-Sa’ar meeting.
Politics

UK blocks release of documents on secret Lammy-Sa’ar meeting

Colombia slams Trump’s drug accusation, defends sovereignty
Politics

Colombia slams Trump’s incendiary drug claims, defends sovereignty

The abuse was detailed in Giuffre's memoir "Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice." (AP)
Politics

Epstein victim recounts choking, sexual assault by 'well-known PM'

The US Secret Service discovered a hunting stand near the airport President Donald Trump uses in Florida. (US Secret Service)
Politics

FBI probes hunting stand with sightline to Trump’s Air Force One exit

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS