The enemies within: How the pandemic radicalised Britain
The COVID-19 pandemic has radicalized segments of British society, exemplified by the Knowsley riot against asylum seekers, fueled by misinformation and social media, merging anti-vaccine sentiments with xenophobia.
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The article discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the radicalization of certain segments of British society, particularly in relation to far-right movements. It highlights a significant riot in Knowsley, where local residents expressed their fears and anger towards asylum seekers, fueled by misinformation and online conspiracy theories. The incident was marked by violence and a sense of collective punishment directed at asylum seekers, despite the fact that the majority of participants were not affiliated with organized extremist groups. The piece also examines the role of social media platforms, particularly Telegram, in facilitating the spread of radical ideas and conspiracy theories during the pandemic. Activists who initially focused on anti-lockdown protests found themselves increasingly drawn into far-right ideologies, as the pandemic created a fertile ground for discontent and distrust towards the government and marginalized communities. The merging of anti-vaccine sentiments with xenophobic narratives has led to a more diffuse form of extremism that is harder to identify. The article concludes that the radicalization witnessed is not just a product of external influences but also reflects deep-seated fears and frustrations within local communities.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has played a significant role in the radicalization of certain British communities.
- The Knowsley riot exemplified local anger towards asylum seekers, driven by misinformation and fear.
- Social media platforms like Telegram have facilitated the spread of conspiracy theories and far-right ideologies.
- Many individuals involved in anti-lockdown protests transitioned to more extreme views post-pandemic.
- The blending of anti-vaccine sentiments with xenophobia has created a new, less identifiable form of extremism.
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2 commentsHad the Government at the time said - hey, look, we have two options here - we can lock down for a good few months / a year, it might get rid of the virus, it might not, but it's worth a shot; or we can just sack it off and take the hit - then I think we'd have had fairly similar compliance, and a lot more respect long term.
What happened instead was just this constant kind of psychological warfare - it's just a few weeks, actually it's just a few months, okay you can go outside again, actually go back indoors - and everything was ramped up to 11 - getting on the tube was perfectly safe if you were needed at work, but not if you wanted to see family - etc.
It felt completely schizophrenic - those of us who actually looked at the data could tell straight away that "it's just a few weeks to flatten the curve" was a bald faced lie.
For many I think that it pulled back the curtain on the kind of behavioural manipulation that goes on, and now it's difficult for a lot of people to believe that the Government is actually acting in our best interest.
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