It has been notably accused of feeding racism and extremism, scapegoating minorities, sharing false information and deceiving the public.
Here are 10 things you should know about Britain First.
1. Britain First runs secret Facebook pages
Britain First use covert means to draw in support from the online community, using secret pages such as the ones below.
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| Courtesy of Exposing Britain First |
They use these secret pages with similar content to ‘merge Likes’ giving their main page a boost. It also serves as a purpose to covertly promote Britain First ideology, or advertise the shop.
2. Britain First shares fake stories and images
Britain First have falsely attributed quotes to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini, a famous Islamic scholar and even Marco Polo - all to demonise Muslims.
The group has also slandered Muslim men, fabricating stories about them while stealing images off newspapers and purposefully hiding the full stories so people could not find out. Britain First also defamed a US Navy veteran – who was a Muslim – by photoshopping an image of him (see Point 4).
Britain First also stir anti-Islam rumours. One example is when Andreas Lubitz deliberately crashed a plane in the French Alps. Britain First claimed he was a “convert to Islam” when he actually wasn’t.
These are just some of the many lies and false information we have already exposed on this blog.
3. Britain First has a place on a nonsense website
ThatsNonsense.com, which is a site dedicated to debunking hoaxes, rumours, as well as online scams, has featured Britain First on its website at least twice.
It also said that Britain First “posts a consistent stream of hypocrisy, misinformation, urban legends and outright lies” and also noted how the group photoshopped an image aimed at inciting racial hatred (next Point).
4. Britain First defamed a Navy veteran
Britain First came under strutiny after posting up an image of a man holding up a photoshopped sign that read: “Boycott bigotry and kill all non Muslims”.
The man was in fact a veteran who has served in the US Navy, and the sign he was holding in real life was edited by Britain First.
He supposedly reported Britain First for defamation.
5. Britain First desecrated image of a murdered soldier
Britain First have used the name of murdered soldier Lee Rigby for their own gain, despite the objections of his family.
In the 2014 European Elections they even used the phrase “Remember Lee Rigby” as their party description on the ballot papers in Wales.
When Lee’s mother heard of the news, she said her and her family were “heartbroken”. She also said Britain First’s views were “not what Lee believed in and has no support from the family.”
In 15 July, after Lee’s mother had made the plea, Britain First continued to use his image and name again for their own gain.
6. A veteran exposed Britain First in a ‘charity scam’
In a video uploaded by a veteran, Britain First leader Paul Golding was filmed running a stall collecting money from the public. The veteran said Golding and his friend were collecting illegally.
When asked to produce his license, Golding didn’t show it. Being confronted, Golding and his friend coincidentally packed up and left.
7. Former member said Britain First use people to “line their own pockets”
He said: “There’s a fixed ideology to the group, and it’s capitalism. They are using people’s weaknesses to their own gain, to line their own pockets. It’s more and more looking like a BNP reboot.”
This comes to no surprise as Britain First continuously tries to cash in from supporters, even through donations.
One affiliate page even tried to cash in using the Tunisia terror attacks that saw many dead. A link was inserted in the post which directed people to a shop.
8. Britain First leader urged young supporters to start breeding
In a video taken in Luton, Britain First leader Paul Golding was caught on film urging his younger supporters to produce the “next generation”.
Golding said immigrants and Muslims have a very high birth rate, so he said to his supporters: “We need to produce the next generation.”
Later he said: “I’m looking specifically at the young men here and the young women because you’ve got to get out there and you’ve got to produce the next generation of our people!”
The video has been titled the “White Supremacy speech”. You can watch it here.
9. Britain First leader wore knickers on his head at the cenotaph
Britain First leader Paul Golding once turned up to a Remembrance Sunday march at the cenotaph with a pair of women’s knickers on his head.
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| Courtesy of politicalscrapbook.net |
However, he told Channel 4 that someone else “had put them” on his head.
10. Former leader admits group is “overrun with racists and extremists”
Britain First founder Jim Dowson said he quit in July 2014 and said Britain First is now “overrun with racists and extremists” and described the group’s tactics as “unacceptable and unchristian”.
He told the Independent: “No matter how many times I told [Paul Golding the current leader] I did not want decent Muslims intimidated, he just continued doing it... I have come to the conclusion that no matter how hard I tried, you cannot escape from the fact that the group is being overrun with racists and extremists.”
Also, Britain First was caught ‘Liking’ a status left by a supporter suggesting someone, or some people, to ‘dynamite the hell’ out of a mosque.
Dowson claims he has nothing to do with BF, but he has attended seminars with Golding and Fransen in the last 2 months. He's also a director of their clothing store Lionheart GB. Liar, liar etc. etc.....
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