Extremists exploit pandemic to spread hatred in
UK, report finds
Pandemic increased visibility of anti-vaccine, anti-5G
and anti-minority conspiracies, government commission finds.
By LAURENZ
GEHRKE 7/9/20, 10:35 AM CET Updated 7/9/20, 10:46 AM CET
The
coronavirus pandemic has increased the spread of dangerous conspiracy theories
in Britain, the U.K. government's Commission for Countering Extremism (CCE)
warned.
According
to a report published by the CCE on Thursday, the pandemic has increased the
visibility of anti-vaccine, anti-5G and anti-minority conspiracy theories, and
spurred the proliferation of far-right, far-left and Islamic extremism.
The report
highlighted a 21 percent increase in hate crime toward East Asian and South
East Asian individuals in the U.K. since the pandemic started, and "a
worrying rise" in hate crime and incidents targeting Chinese people.
According to the report, far-right individuals have also encouraged others to
deliberately infect Jews and Muslims with the virus.
Extremists
have "fully exploited the lockdown to promote dangerous conspiracy
theories and disinformation, most notably online," said Lead Commissioner
Sara Khan in a statement. "They seek to mainstream extremist narratives in
society, for the sole purpose of inciting hatred ... and a breakdown in
community cohesion."
The CCE said
a false social media post accusing Muslims of flouting lockdown rules was
shared 2,700 times, while social media companies didn't take action on over 90
percent of posts containing misinformation after volunteers flagged them.
The report
noted the proliferation of the conspiracy theory that 5G radiation causes
coronavirus symptoms, noting that in April alone, around 50 5G masts were
vandalized across the U.K.
Islamic
extremists have also used the pandemic to spread conspiracies on social media,
such as accusing the government of attempting to use future vaccines to
deliberately harm Muslims, and claiming the pandemic is a conspiracy used to
control the population.
"The
short and long term impacts of the pandemic could create conditions conducive
for extremism," the report warns. "Extremists will seek to capitalize
on the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 to cause further long term
instability, fear and division in Britain."
The report
also warned that funding cuts to youth services "may result in younger
people becoming more vulnerable to extremist narratives, and it is also making
it less likely that risk factors would be noticed," adding that the U.K.'s
coronavirus lockdown "has proved challenging to those delivering
counter-extremism interventions."
The CCE
called on the government to include clear plans to counter extremism in its
response to the pandemic and in future crises, and to publish a new
counter-extremism strategy.
Authors:
Laurenz Gehrke
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