How anti-vax conspiracists are blending with the far right
There is a huge overlap between anti-vaxxers and far-right extremists. Why is this? Lizzie Dearden finds out
Keep going, nothing’s changed – we stop the vaccines and protect our children,” reads a post sent to a thousands-strong Telegram channel for conspiracy theorists. It was posted on 24 February, as all remaining legal Covid restrictions were removed in England. But for many people in broad coalitions of anti-lockdown and anti-vax activists, the battle is not over. What started for some as genuine concern about the unprecedented restrictions imposed in March 2020 – then fear over rapidly-developed vaccines – has morphed into a far wider distrust of the government, media and the perceived “elites”.
Experts say that Covid effectively opened a Pandora’s box of conspiracy theories, many of which feed into extremist viewpoints and are resulting in threats, intimidation and violence. The subject matter varies but the common denominator is a distrust of governments, the health authorities, pharmaceutical companies and – importantly – the “mainstream media”.
Many Covid conspiracy theorists go beyond undermining the “official narrative” to create stories of hostile groups actively conspiring to harm wide sections of the public, for aims ranging from profit to genocide.
From the storming of vaccination and testing centres, to calls for doctors to be hanged and the mobbing of politicians including Sir Keir Starmer and Michael Gove, the tone of activism has become darker and nastier.
“Time to hang this c***,” reads a post about Bill Gates, who is a key focus for anti-vax conspiracy theories including false claims he is using global immunise efforts to inject people with microchips.
“We’re in a real war, with evil people doing evil things,” reads a post on a different British Telegram group. Another anti-vaxxer pledged: “Whatever happens before now and the end of this great battle, I am ready for it and I know in my heart and in my head that the ending is one that we win.”
In real-world protests, politicians, doctors, nurses and vaccination volunteers have been followed, heckled and intimidated. Days after the killing of Conservative MP Sir David Amess in October, anti-vax protesters erected a mock gallows and noose outside parliament.
It wasn’t always like this. At one of the earliest anti-lockdown protests in May 2020, a woman stood offering strangers hugs as people spoke of human rights and fundamental freedoms at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park. Later in the self-described “mass gathering”, attendees spread out on the grass to enjoy the sunshine and listen to music as the police looked warily on.
The Ukrainian war has become a popular topic in online forums, where many anti-vaxxers are siding with Russia
But anger was already simmering. “They are controlling the narrative and they are not allowing the people to speak about anything else other than what they claim is the truth,” one man shouted through a megaphone. “They” feature frequently in conspiracy theorist protests and online discourse. Who they are varies greatly. For some, they are politicians, journalists or NHS practitioners. For others, they are Jews, members of the “new world order” or the imagined lackeys of demonised figures such as Bill Gates.
Leading figures in online conspiracy movements reinforce those views by using them as a frame to feed international events through. The Ukrainian war has become a popular topic in online forums, where many anti-vaxxers are siding with Russia while characterising the Ukraine armed forces as part of the same “globalist” enemy behind vaccines.
A key British figure, with more than 20,000 followers on the encrypted Telegram messaging app, recently shared footage claiming to show a group of American fighters volunteering for Russia in the Donbas region. “We are here to fight against globalism and the new world order,” said a speaker clad in military fatigues.
The British anti-vaxxer celebrated the video for showing people were “WAKING UP ACROSS THE WORLD TO THE REAL ADVERSARY – GLOBALIST PEADO [sic] SATANISTS”.
The Telegram channel, which is typical of online UK anti-vax groups, currently contains a mix of conspiracy theories linked to Jews, Ukraine, paedophiles, 5G, the mainstream media and, of course, vaccines. Its owner frequently claims high-profile deaths are the result of Covid jabs but the cause has been covered up.
The death of Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins, is the latest tragedy to be seized upon, with a post reading: “WE KNOW HE DIED FROM THE CLOT SHOT [vaccine] – THE MAIN STREAM ARE TRYING TO COVER UP THE FOO FIGHTER DEATH NOW WITH THE SAME BS – THEY LIE AND PEOPLE DIE.”
Meanwhile, an international English language channel with almost 50,000 members shares unverified claims of people said to be part of the “death toll” from mRNA Covid vaccines on a daily basis.
Activists use such claims to call for action from followers, from sharing posts online to writing letters, attending demonstrations and running as local councillors. Following the lifting of all legal restrictions related to Covid in the UK, and the government’s stated intention of “living with the violence”, turnout has fallen but protests continue. Upcoming events include a candlelit vigil in Westminster “for victims of the ‘vaccine’; those who have suffered adverse events and those who have died”, leafleting drives and a lockdown “sceptics” conference.
Some of the events advertised in anti-vaxxer channels have a more social focus, and sometimes even a romantic one. “Any ladies interested in joining our weekend walk in the park/pub meet-up in central London,” asked a recent post in a British group. “We do this once every two weeks and it’s for unvaccinated singles only. On the last one we had a bit more males than females, so for now I would only like to invite ladies as I want to even those numbers.”
Milo Comerford, who has been tracking anti-vaxxers at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), says that some people will remain tied to Covid conspiracy movements through their new social networks and the beliefs they now hold. “For some people, life will go on and as things go back to normal some of those fellow travellers will go back into the woodwork,” he adds, but warns that there will also be a “hardened core” left. Comerford forecasts a “long tail” of effects from the pandemic, which “provided a platform and opportunity to mainstream ideas to a wider audience”.
People who identify with apparently opposing ideologies, such as the far right and the far left, have found common ground in anti-vaccine activism
“This will be impacting our lives in different ways for years and years,” he says. “There is a huge amount of overlap between Covid and discussions about the environment, migration, government and tyranny and those will continue.”
There are also concerns about the crossover between anti-vaxxers and far-right activists, and a growing trend seeing both cohorts amplify each other’s ideas. Comerford’s colleague, Jacob Davey, says that conspiracy theorists and extremists “overlap” both in their ideas and the online spaces they inhabit.
“Extremists are often innately conspiratorial in mindset,” he adds. “By the nature of social media takedowns, a huge amount of groups are organising on Telegram. It is largely unmoderated and allows close networking and sharing between communities.”
It is no longer uncommon to see previously separate online communities sharing each other’s posts. Tommy Robinson, the far-right, former leader of the English Defence League, has publicised videos by Kate Shemirani, the struck-off nurse who has spoken at numerous anti-vax demonstrations in London. She hit national headlines in June after calling for crowds in Trafalgar Square to “get the names” of people delivering Covid vaccines and adding: “At the Nuremberg trials the doctors and nurses stood trial and they hung. If you’re a doctor or a nurse, now is the time to get off that bus.”
Meanwhile, Shemirani’s Telegram channel and numerous other British anti-vaxxer hubs have been amplifying Robinson’s content. Extremist groups including Britain First and For Britain have also been sharing conspiracy theories concerning Covid vaccines and the wider pandemic.
Davey says coronavirus appears to have sparked an intensifying “fusion of ideas”, seeing conspiracy theorists borrowing from the far right and vice-versa, when looking for successful ways to increase their following and reach.
Comerford says the trend has caused the “breaking down of traditional ideological buckets”. He explains that organised resistance to Covid restrictions and vaccines has been “more of a broad-based populist movement to bring in a broad church of individuals”, with leaders trying to increase numbers as much as possible rather than excluding certain groups.
People who identify with apparently opposing ideologies, such as the far right and the far left, have found common ground in anti-vaccine activism, anti-government feeling and libertarian opposition to lockdowns.
“Covid has helped to accelerate this thing where people aren’t affiliating with specific ideological positions as much as resistance as an out-group,” Comerford says. “Unlikely coalitions are emerging… Pandora’s box has been opened.”
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