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Paul Bernal
@PaulbernalUK
, 4 tweets, 1 min read Read on Twitter
Wholly unsurprising to see people on the far right trying to distance themselves from the shooting in NZ. It’s all part of a pattern, though, and they’re part of it. Yes, in the UK I mean Farage, Yaxley-Lennon, Katie Hopkins, the Daily Mail and Express. BBCQT. Etc.
Anyone who met with Bannon. Anyone who approved of Zac Goldsmith’s mayoral campaign. Pretty much all the ‘bad boys of Brexit’. And of course in the US pretty much the whole Trump lot. Trump himself.
It’s the same picture. The same hate. The same fear. The same de-humanising and ‘othering’ of people. The same ‘games’ that have real consequences.
So yes, dress it up as ‘free speech’, complain about ‘elites’, go on about ‘legitimate concerns about immigration’, but don’t pretend that you’re not part of a big and very nasty picture indeed.
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More from @PaulbernalUK see all

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Paul Bernal
@PaulbernalUK
One of the most saddening things about the whole Brexit process has been the lying - and the repetition of the lies, the believing of the lies, the failures to call out the lies, and, ultimately, that the lies have won.
More than that, that people who know very well that the lies are lies seem perfectly happy to go along with them because they think it’s popular. It’s a fundamental defeat of truth, of honesty, of evidence, of science, and more.
The liars thrive, their lies are reflected and magnified rather than challenged by the media. The liars get promotion rather than the sack. The liars win.
Read 7 tweets
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Paul Bernal
@PaulbernalUK
A short thread on ‘broken politics’. What do I mean when I say it’s broken? That it’s characterised by hypocrisy, ignorance, lies, stupidity, self-interest and careerism - and that it’s incapable of doing the things that ‘governing’ the country is supposed to be about.
The debacle of Brexit has demonstrated this on an unprecedented scale, but it’s far from the only example. Almost everywhere in the UK and in almost every field we see the same kinds of patterns.
The key point for me right now is to understand than neither Brexit nor the birth of the ‘Independent Group’ are in any way ‘solutions’ to the way politics is broken. Very much the opposite: they’re manifestations of the way that it is broken.
Read 12 tweets
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Paul Bernal
@PaulbernalUK
‘Fake news’ is one of my specialist subjects - I’ve researched and written about it, including a chapter in my recent book. The story of @DKShrewsbury and the @ShropshireStar fits in with the pattern pretty much exactly (short thread)
The key to fake news isn’t the news itself, it’s the *narrative*. Here, the narrative presented by @DKShrewsbury is one of ‘plucky Britain’, hard-done-by by the evil and exploitative Germans. Brings back memories of WW2, the Blitz, etc etc
This is a familiar narrative to exactly the people that @DKShrewsbury wants to keep on his side, or bring onto his side. Whether the *facts* fit the story do not matter at this stage. It fits the pattern, feeds the narrative.
Read 12 tweets

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Andy Fleming
@slackbastard
Seemingly in response to the #NewZealandTerroristAttack, neo-Nazi groupuscule the 'New Zealand National Front' has issued a statement claiming 'nothing to do with us guv, honest' & -- sadly -- their website has been closed. (Still on @facebook, natch.)
2) Another WN groupsucule to have gone into hiding is the 'Dominion Movement'. Both its website & its social media accts (instagram et al) have disappeared -- which again, is very sad, but may serve them in good stead when pol come knocking ... ? instagram.com/dominion.movem…
3) DM presented itself as an 'Identitarian' grp; the US equivalent, #IdentityEvropa, sprang a massive leak recently (by way of @UR_Ninja), & you can follow the ensuing drama by way of #IdentifyEvropa.
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There are thousands of Bruce Wilsons
@brucewilson
Reading the apparent manifesto of the #NewZealandMosqueShooting #NewZealandShooting #NewZealandTerroristAttack & it's clear that one person above all - Anders Breivik - especially inspired the shooter, and another person, above all, built the motivating ideology. Trump knows him.
First: neo-Nazi terrorist Anders Breivik's manifesto cited the "cultural Marxism" conspiracy theory (CMCT) literally hundreds of times. Back in '016 I wrote this piece chronicling some of the international incidents of far-right terrorism linked to CMCT. 4thgenwar.wordpress.com/2016/07/11/tru…
The apparent manifesto of the New Zealand mosque shooting terrorist is tricky. He calls himself an "eco-fascist" but says nothing of ecology. He trolls (probably) Candace Owens. He also cites other terrorists who have especially inspired him, such as Dylann Roof & Anders Breivik.
Read 27 tweets
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Tony Webster
@webster
Jacob Wohl and Laura Loomer say they have been going around Minneapolis in armored cars, with security, because they feel Rep. Ilhan Omar might send someone after them.
If you're wondering who Laura Loomer is, I'll let this clip—from later in the Periscope video—speak for itself. (As you can imagine, the replies are even worse.)
Jacob Wohl and Laura Loomer say in Minneapolis Periscope video “the Islamist forces here have taken over” parts of law enforcement, and that “Sharia Police” enforce Sharia Law. (Fact check: nope.)
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⚢⚧🌸Sakura No Seirei🌸
@SakuraNoSeirei
So, the past few weeks has seen a growing public awareness in the UK of how the far-right, especially the religious far-right, in the US likes to operate, and likes to use willing, if witless, pawns to do their bidding.

The name that's been making the headlines recently...

1/n
is The #Heritage #Foundation. But what, exactly, does The Heritage Foundation espouse? What is it's driving ideological foci?

And the answer to that, if you care one iota for women, or for LGBTQI+ people, is grim to say the least.

This is an organisation that states:

2/n
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"SOGI laws are about forcing all Americans to embrace—and live out—certain beliefs about human sexuality. They are not about protecting the freedom of people to live as LGBT, but about coercing everyone else to...

3/n
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🎄🔶🌸❄️Sakura To Yuki No Seirei❄️🌸🦋⚢⚧
@SakuraNoSeirei
So, I've waded through the Evangelical Alliance's new pastoral "guidelines" for interacting with trans people (ughh, the things I do to expose #transphobic #ciswits to the world), and let's just say it's time to tear this particular sh*t-bag a new hole.

1/n
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2/n
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"It is important to remember that transgender is not simply an issue to be debated;" - p5, #Transformed

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When such language gets reinforced by insisting...

3/n
Read 176 tweets
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Linda Tirado
@KillerMartinis
Me, looking at the clock and realizing it’s Woodward time soon

*checks brandy supply*
Ok hello new followers! You picked a great/terrible day to follow me because this is the next installation of my continuing series Linda Gets Drunk And Reads Books So You Don’t Have To!

(Also welcome!)
Previous installments include Hillbilly Elegy
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