Far-right hijack coronavirus crisis to push agenda

A report by the Zinc Network has suggested that far-right movements are exploiting the coronavirus crisis to push their anti-minority agendas and win new support.

The communications agency claims that there has been a clear pivot among far-right groups in the UK, EU and US to ‘utilise the pandemic to bring new relevancy, attention and support for their key grievances’.

Having studied social media posts, photos, videos, journals, official records and media reports to produce the analysis, the Zinc Network said that British far-right groups, such as Britain First and the Knights Templar International, have used the crisis to promote themselves as supporters of the community during the lockdown.

It said one key narrative being pushed by the far right is that the spread of coronavirus is the consequence of illegal immigration. Another is the premise that modern liberal states are on the verge of collapse, and that their fall can be accelerated through armed action or by a major crisis.

Louis Brooke, executive director of research and strategy at Zinc Network, said: “The evidence we’ve uncovered shows that far-right groups in the UK are using Covid-19 to promote a British form of fascism. Their tactics are sophisticated, and their activity is becoming more difficult to monitor, partly due to the use of private messaging apps to share disinformation and propaganda. We’re seeing the dissemination of material claiming that immigrants spread coronavirus, and that authoritarian regimes outperform western liberal democracies in tackling the health crisis.”