Polish President Denounces Anti-Semitism, Xenophobia and Racism Following Far-Right March

November 20, 2017 Article

Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Monday there was no place in Poland for xenophobia, anti-Semitism and “sick nationalism”, denouncing hate speech at a nationalist march in Warsaw in comments later echoed by ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
 
Jewish groups have called on the Polish authorities to condemn the message of banners with slogans such as “pure blood, clear mind” or “Europe will be white or uninhabited” that some nationalists carried at a march on Nov. 11 – the anniversary of Polish independence from Russia, Austria and Germany at the end of World War One.
 
Tens of thousands of demonstrators attended a march through Warsaw organised by far-right groups on Saturday, carrying flares and Polish flags, many chanting anti-migrant slogans.
 
The Independence March has become an annual event in recent years, separate from official ceremonies to mark the holiday, and has attracted many people apart from far-right sympathisers.
 
The government of the right-wing Law and Justice Party (PiS) condemned the racist banners, but not the march itself. PiS won election in 2015 partly thanks to support from younger voters, who have increasingly embraced right-wing views in recent years.
 
“Extremely bad incidents have taken place,” Kaczynski said, calling the banners a marginal phenomenon and “disgraceful rubbish”. “Polish tradition – the one we invoke – has nothing to do with anti-Semitism, we are as far as possible from that, nothing to do with racism.”
He also said that tens of thousands of “decent” people had come to the march to express their attachment to Poland.
 
The PiS government refused to take in migrants mostly from the Middle East and North Africa under an EU relocation deal, arguing that it could put public safety at risk. The party enjoys the steady support of more than a third of Poles.
 
Poland was for generations home to one of Europe’s biggest Jewish communities, until nearly all perished in Nazi death camps during German occupation in World War Two.
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) lobby group urged Polish authorities on Monday to speak out against the far-right, saying it threatened “the core values of Poland and its standing abroad”.
 
Duda responded to the banners by saying: “There is no place or permission or in our country for xenophobia, there is no permission for sick nationalism, there is no place for anti-Semitism … Such attitudes mean an exclusion from our society.”
 
Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said marches to celebrate Independence Day were important and should not be marred by “absolutely unacceptable” banners. The PiS spokeswoman said no one with such banners should have taken part in the march.
 
 

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Categories: anti-Semitism, Antisemitism, Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawieck, Far Right groups, Law and Justice Party, nationalism, News, PiS, Warsaw, Xenophobia

Jayda Fransen Shares Platform & Friendship with Firebrand Antisemitic Former Priest, Jacek Miedlar

November 14, 2017 Article

We reported on the recent far right demonstration in Warsaw, which was organised by the National Radical Camp which has its roots in Nazi ideology and which openly promotes antisemitism, anti-migrant and anti-Muslim hatred. Over 60,000 people attended the rally, some duped into thinking that it was a celebration of Polish nationalism, whilst others realised that it was an opportunity to promote open hatred and intolerance towards Jewish and Muslim communities in Poland which are virtually non-existent.

We also recently highlighted the detention and deportation of former priest Jacek Miedlar who is active in Wroclaw and who has previously connected with and developed links with Jayda Fransen of Britain First. Miedlar was detained in February of this year as he arrived in the UK and sent back to Poland after an invitation by Britain First to march with them through the town of Telford.

Fransen, it seems, is happy to share a platform and call as a friend, the virulent anti-Semite Miedlar, who on the 11th of October 2017, made the following statement in the Polish city of Wroclaw. Mixing antisemitism and far right nationalism with the commemoration of Polish Independence Day, Miedlar went onto say the following:

“The fact that there can be synagogues here, on our Polish soil, the fact that Jews can revel in Talmudic hate inside them, is only a result of our tolerance bordering on lack of caution. Let them know that the streets are ours! Dear football fans, dear patriots, be merciless! Be radical in your fight against evil, against falsehood, against injustice, against lawlessness, against the destruction of Polish justice system and against talmudism. We are at a war between good and evil and no Jewish Marxist horde will take away our flag or trample on Christ’s cross.”

 An excerpt of the speech can be FOUND HERE.

Such rabid antisemitism and threats against a very tiny number of Jews in Poland, should not only shock us, it should move us into action. Over 3 million Polish Jews were murdered in the country and from a population of 3.3 million Jews in Poland prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, it is estimated that about 300,000 survived, what was to become the mechanised murder of European Jewry on a scale never seen. Furthermore, Miedlar’s fascination with Fransen has extended into long drawn out statements from her which he has posted on his sites. An example of one, is highlighted below where Fransen turns onto the issue of Muslims in Britain.

“With the Islamization of Britain we meet in almost every corner of our country. Starting from the colonisation of our cities and our towns, and ending with the epidemic gangs who are ruthlessly raping and torturing our children. Islam is used as both a shield and a sword. What does it mean?  Shield to defend against Muslims accused in the case of child molestation and public unrest, which is translated as “cultural misunderstanding.” Islam is also used as a sword in implementating (sic) the culture and traditions such as the presence of Sharia Law and to use churches for Muslim prayer.”

Fransen is seen at the same event a few days ago with Miedlar on the stage and with affectionate grins towards each other before she starts to speak from the paper on which she has scrawled her speech. True to form, she picks on the strong sense of Polish nationalism that far right activists like Fransen use to blur the lines between pride in national history and culture and outright hatred towards other groups in society. She goes onto state the following:

“Polish nationalism is like no other country I have visited………Whilst most of Europe has fallen to political correctness and Islam, Poland has remained a strong, traditional, Christian nation.”

“And as we celebrate Remembrance weekend back in Britain, we will pay tribute to the brave Polish Spitfire pilots who fought courageously to defend our skies during the battle of Britain.”

Shame nobody forgot to remind her that if the Polish pilots were alive today, their form of national pride would be far from the hatred and intolerance shown by Fransen and her raving anti-Semite friend, Miedlar. Of that, we can be sure.

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Categories: anti-Muslim hate, Antisemitism, Far Right groups, Jacek Miedlar, Jayda Fransen, News, Opinions, Polish Independence Day, Polish Spitfire Pilots, Wroclaw

Stepfather who refused to let stepdaughter do homework on Islam had shared anti-Muslim content online

November 10, 2017 Article

A stepfather who refused to let his 12-year-old stepdaughter finish a homework assignment about converting to Islam had ‘liked’ various far-right Facebook pages and shared videos from ex-English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson days before the story went viral, it has emerged.

Mark McLachlan, 43, from Houghton-le-Spring, near Sunderland, uploaded a photo of his stepdaughter’s homework planner on 3 November to Facebook, adding that he will ‘help’ her with the homework which was due days later. His appended suggestions included writing, ‘For many years Muslim groominggangs have been preying on the infidels children’, and ‘’ll be able to wear a hijab in the bank and petrol stations when normal people can’t even wear a helmet’.

A day earlier, Mr McLachlan shared two videos from ex-English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson, highlighting his cancelled book tour appearance in Manchester.

Various Facebook ‘likes’ of Mr McLachlan include Liberty GB, Infidels of Britain, United British Patriots, and the North East Infidels Sunderland Division. Other examples include For Britain, formed by ex-Ukip candidate Anne Marie Waters, InfoWars host Alex Jones, and the AIF English Lions.

Some examples of various far-right ‘likes’ on Facebook.

Coverage in the MailOnline, the Sun and Metro, however, present him more neutrality, as a parent who has raised his concerns in a reasonable manner. He told the Metro and MailOnline that he has no ‘problem with them learning about religions’ but questioned the ‘inappropriate’ nature of the homework exercise.

Both stories quote one member of the public who shared his outrage, excluding the hundreds of vitriolic comments about Islam and comments criticising Mr McLachlan, which the posts had attracted. One comment which Mr McLachlan agreed with on Facebook included the statement that Islam is a religion of hate, with the person in question pondering if the school would also teach students about bombs, rape, and beheadings.

On 6 November, Mr McLachlan shared a YouTube video which described Islam as a ‘terrorist’ cult – three days before the MailOnline story appeared online.

The MailOnline and others were criticised last year for its coverage of a similar homework assignment for Year 8 students at a Guernsey school. This assignment was designed to test their knowledge, to write objectively, and reflect with empathy on how their parents would react to such a change, in a fictitious exercise. Teachers added the caveat that students were, at no point, converting to Islam.

Ofsted rated Kepier School ‘Good’ in January 2016, but added more was needed to equip students with ‘the practical experience of the many cultures that make up modern Britain,’ an example of this change concerns their Interfaith Awareness Week in November 2016. For example, students in Years 7 and 8 built Diya lamps for Diwali, as Christian and Islamic groups visited students in special assemblies to talk about their faiths. The week concluded with a visit to a local church, according to a school publication. Other inclusive examples include a banquet to celebrate Chinese New Year.

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Categories: homework, News

Will the System Resistance Network be the next neo-Nazi group to be banned?

September 28, 2017 Article

The Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, has extended the ban on the neo-Nazi group National Action, to its alias groups NS131 (National Socialist Anti-Capitalist Action), and Scottish Dawn.

From September 29, 2017, being a member or inviting support for the organisations carries a 10-year prison sentence.

The banning order, under section 3 (6) (a) of the Terrorism Act 2000 (a), was made on September 26 and put to parliament on September 28, affirming the belief that National Action was working wholly or partly under the banners of NS131 and Scottish Dawn.

An assessment of National Action led to its banning December 2016 that it was concerned with terrorism and its glorification of the terroristic murder of Labour MP Jo Cox.

“By extending the proscription of National Action, we are halting the spread of a poisonous ideology and stopping its membership from growing – protecting those who could be at risk of radicalisation,” the Home Secretary said in a statement.

NS131 largely operated as an autonomous blog for National Socialist-inspired graffiti artists, offering a graffiti training camp for members in July 2017, but clues to its National Action identity arose from its use of the Tutanona encrypted email service, and the fact that graffiti served as a key propaganda tool for regional branches of National Action.

Tell MAMA exposed the activities of Vanguard Britannia and NS131 in July.

Scottish Dawn’s links to National Action were exposed by HOPE not Hate and the Scottish Daily Record.

Little attention, however, has been paid to the emergent System Resistance Network (SRN), a neo-Nazi movement born from the ashes of the short-lived Vanguard Britannia.

Hampshire Police are investigating the distribution of their violently homophobic leaflets in the Southampton area in August.

Users on more notorious fascist forums have praised the actions of the SRN, borrowing the Chan-board language of /ourguy/ to solidify its new direction and leadership.

On September 23, the admin of the SRN website reposted a blog which claimed that homosexuality is either a form of mental illness, a medical deformity, or social degeneracy, and citing statistics from the Family Research Council, a designated hate group in the United States.

A subsequent SRN blog posted on the same day includes the writings of James Mason, a former member of the member of the American Nazi Party, and Charles Manson enthusiast. It’s perhaps unsurprising to see Manson appear in SRN propaganda.

William Luther Pierce, the neo-Nazi who founded the US-based National Alliance and authored the infamous ‘Turner Diaries,’ which inspired terrorists like Timothy McVeigh and Pavlo Lapshyn, is eulogised in the same blog.

Academics have studied the enduring legacy of the ‘Turner Diaries’ in white supremacist networks.

Thomas Mair, the neo-Nazi terrorist who murdered Labour MP Jo Cox, purchased books from National Vanguard, the publishing arm of the National Alliance.

System Resistance Network propaganda is not just aesthetically similar to that of National Action. It transplants key phrases like ‘Hitler Was Right’ into one of its recent posters.

Examples of hate flyers found on the System Resistance Network website.

Other posters are overtly antisemitic, as another recent poster is captioned ‘Stop The Faggots,’ a more violently homophobic poster with a noose, has disappeared from the SRN website.

On social media, SRN tweeted an image suggesting antisemitic plot behind recent acts of terrorism in Europe.

As with National Action and its aliases, the System Resistance Network requests that individuals use the Tutanota email service.

Support for the SRN has a wider, more concerning European and transatlantic dimension as its presence grows on various social media platforms.

 

 

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Categories: Amber Rudd, National Action, Neo-Nazi, News, NS131, System Resistance Network, terrorism, Vanguard Britannia

Far-right party likened to Nazis to shake up German parliament

September 21, 2017 Article

The first far-right party set to enter Germany’s parliament for more than a half a century says it will press for Chancellor Angela Merkel to be “severely punished” for opening the door to refugees and migrants.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has also called for Germany’s immigration minister to be “disposed of” in Turkey where her parents come from, could become the third largest party with up to 12 percent of the vote on Sept. 24, polls show.

That is far less than similar movements in other European countries – in France far-right leader Marine Le Pen won 34 percent of the vote in May and in the Netherlands far-rightist Geert Wilders scored 13 percent in a March election.

But the prospect of a party that the foreign minister has compared with the Nazis entering the heart of German democracy is unnerving the other parties. They all refuse to work with the AfD and no one wants to sit next to them in parliament.

Leading AfD candidate Alexander Gauland denies they are Nazis, saying others only use the term because of the party’s popularity. It has won support with calls for Germany to shut its borders immediately, introduce a minimum quota for deportations and stop refugees bringing their families here.

“We’re gradually becoming foreigners in our own country,” Gauland told an election rally in the Polish border city of Frankfurt an der Oder.

A song with the lyrics “we’ll bring happiness back to your homeland” blared out of a blue campaign bus and the 76-year-old lawyer said Germany belonged to the Germans, Islam had no place here and the migrant influx would make everyone worse off.

Gauland provoked outrage for saying at another event that Germans should no longer be reproached with the Nazi past and they should take pride in what their soldiers achieved during World War One and Two.

The Nazis ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945, during which time they killed 6 million Jews in the Holocaust and invaded countries across Europe.

The AfD could end up as the biggest opposition force in the national assembly if there is a re-run of the current coalition of Merkel’s conservatives and Social Democrats (SPD) — one of the most likely scenarios.

That would mean it would chair the powerful budget committee and open the general debate during budget consultations, giving prominence to its alternatives to government policies.

Georg Pazderski, a member of the AfD’s executive board, told Reuters his party would use parliamentary speeches to draw attention to the cost of the migrant crisis, troubles in the euro zone – which the AfD wants Germany to leave – and problems related to the European Union.

“We’ll have a voice when we’re in parliament,” he said. “We won’t be an easy opposition.”

He expects other parties will shun the AfD for a year or two but ultimately work with it, pointing to the regional assembly in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD and Merkel’s Christian Democrats voted to set up a committee to investigate left-wing extremism.

Gauland told Reuters the AfD would call for a committee to investigate the chancellor after entering parliament: “We want Ms Merkel’s policy of bringing 1 million people into this country to be investigated and we want her to be severely punished for that.”

For an interactive graphic on German elections click – http://tmsnrt.rs/2h0NqCT

SUITS, NOT SKINHEADS

MPs have already changed the qualification for the ceremonial post of doyen of parliament to the longest-serving MP rather than the oldest, likely to have been an AfD member.

Sahra Wagenknecht, top candidate of the radical Left party, told Reuters it was important to look at individuals for committees but added: “I won’t elect any AfD member who belongs to Bjoern Hoecke’s wing and who really represents Nazi views into any position of responsibility.”

Hoecke has denied that Adolf Hitler was “absolutely evil”, described Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial as a “monument of shame” and demanded a “180 degree turnaround” in the way Germany seeks to atone for Nazi crimes.

The justice minister said some of the AfD’s programme like its demand to ban minarets is unconstitutional.

Alexander Hensel, who studied the AfD’s role in regional parliaments for the Otto Brenner Foundation, said debates in state assemblies had become more polarised since the AfD arrived and some other MPs would not shake hands with the newcomers.

“The AfD’s aggressive right-wing positions have intensified the debates while the tone and way people deal with each other in parliament has become noticeably rougher due to the AfD’s tough rhetoric and targeted provocations,” he said.

Unlike previous right-wing movements in Germany the AfD – founded in 2013 by an anti-euro group of academics – has become socially acceptable so radicalised people from the middle class feel able to vote for it alongside classic radical right-wing voters, said Manfred Guellner, head of Forsa polling institute.

“You don’t vote for skinheads but you can vote for professors in suits,” said Guellner, referring to the likes of Gauland, who tends to wear tweed jackets.

The AfD is unlikely to gain much more support though, said Jackson Janes, president of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, predicting worsening infighting over whether to aim for government or stay in opposition.

“They’ll add to the yelling and screaming in the Bundestag,” he said, but added: “I don’t see them spreading like a cancer through society.”

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Categories: Adolf Hitler, AfD, Alternative for Germany (AfD), Angela Merkel, Far Right groups, Nazi, News, refugees

PSNI investigate pig’s head dumped outside Newtownards Islamic centre

August 25, 2017 Article

Police are investigating a spate of anti-Muslim hate crime in Newtownards after a pig’s head left on the doorstep of an Islamic centre on Wednesday evening.

Graffiti was also painted on the wall of the building and in other parts of the town.

Police confirmed that they had been made aware of the pig’s head dumped at the Bangladesh Islamic Community Centre on Greenwell Street, at 23:45 BST on Wednesday, with the graffiti, reported hours later.

Racists then went to spray paint ‘Islamic rapists out’ and ‘Muslim rapists out’ in other locations.

The third act of graffiti has yet to be reported to the PSNI, according to Belfast Live.

Residents and politicians have condemned this act of race hate.

A spokesperson for Amnesty International also condemned the incident.

After news of the hate crime broke, a bouquet of flowers appeared on the doorstep of the Islamic centre.

Members of the far-right party Britain First had targeted the Islamic centre with a flash demonstration in August 2015. Earlier this month, Paul Golding, leader of Britain First, had confirmed that the party intends to register as a political party in Northern Ireland.

The Electoral Commission has yet to approve this request, however, according to the list of registered political parties in Northern Ireland.

PSNI are treating the incidents as hate crimes and are appealing for more information.

You can get advice through our confidential and free helpline on 0800 456 1226. Or through our free iOS or Android apps. Report through our online form. Or contact us via WhatsApp on 0734 184 6086.

 

 

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Categories: Britain First, hate crime, News

Britain First ‘to register as political party’ in Northern Ireland

August 9, 2017 Article

The leader of Britain First has claimed to have registered the party in Northern Ireland and intends to run candidates.

Paul Golding made the comments during the so-called Northern Ireland Against Terrorism rally in Belfast on August 6.

Britain First hope to return to Belfast for a ‘larger’ rally next month.

Jolene Bunting, the independent Unionist, drew the ire of many after inviting Paul Golding and his deputy Jayda Fransen to the rally but has distanced herself from any potential candidacy.

The rally fell on the same day of a republican parade marking the anniversary of British internment without trial in Belfast, but they were denied entry into the city centre.

Officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) separated 50 Britain First supporters and members of the ‘Belfast Says No to Fascism’ group. One arrest was made after an individual threw an object at Ms. Fransen.

During the rally, Ms. Fransen told supporters: “The world is at war with Islam. Every single Muslim is obliged to kill you and your husbands and your wives and your children.”

A PSNI spokesperson confirmed that footage of the rally is being reviewed to “determine if any offences have been committed.”

Britain First has done minor activism in Northern Ireland since 2014, but this shift into the political arena may only serve as a cosmetic attempt at building legitimacy in the region.

On Facebook, a ‘Britain First Northern Ireland’ page became active on August 7, but there’s no indication yet that it belongs to the group. In 2013, Paul Golding wrote: “The Loyalist/Unionist population of Northern Ireland represents the best of British patriotism and loyalty.”

This latest move mirrors the National Front, who registered as a political party in Northern Ireland in 2015 according to the Electoral Commission but have yet to field candidates. Despite being registered in Northern Ireland, the National Front list a PO Box address in Hull as their main address. In 2012, two men were arrested in Belfast following allegations that National Front leaflets had been distributed in the Tates Avenue area. The history of this movement in the region dates back further still.

The Electoral Commission is now assessing the Britain First submission, according to the Irish News.

Tell MAMA has approached the Electoral Commission for further comment.

 

 

 

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Categories: Belfast, Britain First, News

Angry locals remove antisemitic, anti-Muslim posters in Scotland

July 27, 2017 Article

A new white nationalist group had its propaganda posters torn down in Scotland, according to The Courier.

The racist propaganda recycles historic antisemitic canards to demonise Muslim communities.

Vanguard Britannia is modelled on the openly fascist and white supremacist group Vanguard America.

The group’s official website went live on June 15, 2017. Days later, a post on the ‘censorship-free community platform’ Voat, appeared on the /v/Identitarian thread. Such an appeal to the Identitarian movement is consistent with another far-right group Scottish Dawn. A recent investigation has revealed links between the banned terror group National Action and Scottish Dawn.

By June 29, Vanguard Britannia had its own Twitter account, which boasts no more than a few hundred followers.

A propaganda video uploaded to YouTube on July 25 suggests that other posters have appeared on a bus stop and walls. An earlier video, captioned, ‘Why are the Jews so interested in helping other non-whites migrate to Europe?’ further visualises their race hate.

Other social media propaganda concerns the promotion of ‘Fashwave’ electronic music.

Another far-right group was also born last month. The openly National Socialist NS131 first appeared online on June 12. Its sole purpose is to promote National Socialist street art and physical propaganda. Within hours of uploading its first video to YouTube on June 12, the Facebook page Difficulty II had also uploaded it, attracting over four thousand views.

NS131 held its first graffiti training session shortly after. Photos of this event appeared online on July 19, where the numerical code ‘131’ features heavily alongside more traditional far-right iconography. This code refers to the letters of the alphabet (A.C.A) and its anti-capitalist message.

A propaganda still from a recent NS131 video.

It mirrors German groups like Antikapitalistisches Kollektiv (AKK) and Aktiv für Deutschland (Active for Germany). Both serve as networks for autonomous National Socialists. NS131 also takes inspiration from similar groups in Russia, Poland, Spain, and France.

Any links to National Action, however, is still unclear. Graffiti and anti-capitalist messages did feature in their physical propaganda and proved popular with its dissolved London chapter.

Like National Action, NS131 uses the encrypted email service Tutanota. It also promotes anonymous web browsing. But this may also reflect inspiration, as groups like Scottish Dawn and Vanguard Britannia use similar email services.

Towards the end of June, a thread on 8Chan discussed NS131. On July 23, a thread in the /pol/ section of 4Chan promoted Scottish Dawn, NS131, and Vanguard Britannia. Notorious hate site the Daily Stormer then promoted NS131 three days later.

Days earlier, a photo of two National Socialists trampling on a rainbow flag, appeared on the NS131 blog. A National Socialist Twitter account then shared the photo a day later under the hashtag #PrideInHull.

The groups have likely used the message board service Discord to promote their cause.

 

 

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Categories: hate crime, Neo-Nazi, News, NS131, Scotland, Scottish Dawn, Vanguard Brittania

Scuffles between police and protesters outside Le Pen rally in Paris

April 17, 2017 Article

Scuffles briefly broke out between about 60 to 80 anti-National Front protesters and police near the Zenith concert hall in north-east Paris ahead of a rally by far-right leader Marine Le Pen, a Reuters photographer saw.

Police fired teargas at the protesters, some of whom threw  chunks of wood. The protesters then left, followed by a small group of police.

French voters go to the polls on Sunday in the first round of the most unpredictable presidential election in decades.

Opinion polls have for months shown Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron qualifying for the May 7 run-off, but the gap with conservative Francois Fillon and far-leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon has been tightening.

FN lawmaker Gilbert Collard told reporters that on arriving at the concert hall he was hit on the neck by a beer bottle and other objects were targeted at him, before police intervened. Another FN official, Jean Messiha, said he saw a couple of molotov cocktails being thrown. Reuters could not verify either comments.

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Categories: Far Right groups, Francois Fillon, Jean-Luc Melenchon, Marine Le Pen, News, Paris, Presidential elections

Social Media Algorithms Promote Far Right & Islamist Groups in the UK

April 14, 2017 Article

The Times has just completed a detailed investigation into the way that advertising and pay per view clicks fund extremist and other content on the Internet and in the last few days they have also highlighted how child pornography and other activity, including the promotion of extremist material, has taken place inadvertently through the algorithm systems set up by social media companies.

We complained to a social media company about 8 weeks ago about how their algorithms were promoting far right and Islamist material to members of Muslim communities in the United Kingdom. In particular, Islamist material was being promoted to individuals who had an interest in Islam, Muslims and facets related to both and the algorithms were inadvertently strengthening such groups who promote a world view of political Islam at the expense of the rights of others communities and with narratives that include a ‘war being waged on Islam’ and where Muslims are the ‘victims’ of the West. Some of these groups have also wavered on what is terrorism and when it takes place in our country.

We would urge social media companies to ensure that their algorithms do not support groups who are against universal values of human rights, pluralism, free speech, democratic values and the right to question and dissent in communities. These are fundamental values and the last thing we want is for society to be shaped by a set of algorithms who know nothing about the context and nature of groups.

We will continue to make the case on such issues and we will continue to move forward constructively on such matters with social media companies.

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Categories: algorithm, Instagram, Islamism, Islamist, Opinions