How to spot the signs your child is involved in the far right

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

With the recent explosion of far-right anti-immigrant violence across the UK, some parents may be wondering what their children are getting up to on their phones.

And such concerns may be heightened in the wake of children and teenagers being spotted during the recent far-right unrest that swept across the UK earlier in the month.

Meanwhile, exclusive polling from YouGov suggests around a quarter of young men agree with self-described misogynist Andrew Tate’s views on how women should be treated.

And separate research from leading anti-fascism charity Hope not Hate found more young men in the UK have seen material from the influencer than have heard of former prime minister Rishi Sunak.

So, for parents who are worried about their child being groomed into the far right, or who want to know more about the telltale signs just in case, The Independent has spoken to experts about what to look out for.

Behavioural signs to look out

Nigel Bromage, a reformed neo-Nazi who was involved in far-right groups for two decades but now runs a deradicalisation charity, explained that individuals who become involved in extremism can act in “many different ways” but cited some examples to look out for.

A key one is “isolating themselves from family and friends and having a new group of friends who no one [in their previous circle of family and friends] knows,” he said. Mr Bromage, director of Exit Hate Trust, which helps people who want to leave far-right groups, also warned to watch out for “talking as if from a scripted speech, spending more time online, unwillingness to discuss their views – they are always right”.

Children exhibiting a “sudden disrespectful attitude towards others” and “talking about us and them” as well as “increased levels of anger and frustration, in general, against the media, politicians, and different communities” were further signs.

Mr Bromage also cited “increased secretiveness, especially around internet use” and “new tattoos of numbers or symbols you have never seen before”.

He added: “If people are young these may be drawings in books for example, and talking in support of individuals and groups who are anti-Muslim or racist.”

Anne Craanen, senior research and policy manager at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, added signs to look out for include a child not being engaged in hobbies they previously enjoyed.

“That comes with identity shrinkage,” Ms Craanen, whose organisation tackles extremism and disinformation, added. “Their identity fuses with a particular ideology such as the far right.”

She said parents should also look out for their child engaging in “othering” - explaining extremism is centred around an “in group” and an “out group” and those who are opposed to your views being cast as the enemy.

Emotional signs to look out for

Ms Craanen noted a child who has been radicalised into the far right may act “withdrawn” and become “isolated”, as well as take a more “black and white” approach to sensitive issues.

Lucy*, whose 14-year-old son was groomed into the far right while she thought he was playing video games, warned a telltale sign would be your child starting to spend a lot of time in their room.

“If they start becoming interested in political affairs or current events, and if their opinions seem a little bit out there, again, pay attention,” she added.

“If their attitude starts to change, now I know this can be somewhat difficult because, during teenage years, they do change anyway. But if they become very disrespectful, very irritable, very angry, very argumentative – that is another sign.”

Lucy, who works for Exit Hate Trust providing training and supporting parents whose children have been radicalised, urged parents to keep tabs on who their children are following on social media.

“Are they constantly talking about an individual or a group? And if they are, then just do a little bit of research into who that group is,” she added.

How things can escalate

Pressed about the dangers of a child’s far-right activity escalating, Ms Craanen said it can be hard to predict when an individual will turn their radical ideas into action.

“The danger is twofold: one to society and one to the child,” she said. “To the child, they can be taken advantage of and exploited. The danger to society is increased division and when minors get involved in terrorism it has a larger emotional and societal effect; it is shocking when children are radicalised into the far right and other extremist ideologies.”

She noted children have been arrested and charged for violent disorder during the recent far-right unrest.

“With the Online Safety Act we are now seeing the first offences for inciting online hatred and people getting arrested for it. So far we have only seen adults arrested so it remains to be seen how it could be enforced for children,” Ms Craanen added.

“The act is meant to protect children online and platforms have extra safeguarding measures they have to implement if they know children are active on their platform so the children should be protected from finding illegal or harmful content online and that includes far-right material and channels that are grooming children.”

Mr Bromage warned individuals can very rapidly “become active supporters” in the far right – turning “from feeling frustrated to being vocal, becoming politically active and even disenfranchised from society and embracing extremist ideologies, which promote violence and hatred”.

He added young people can “get lost online, manipulated and be used by the extreme right-wing, downloading manuals which could lead to arrest because of the extremist and terrorist nature of the content they have”.

* Lucy’s name has been changed to protect her identity