Thread by @marcowenjones

1/ 🧵Just did a network analysis of the "far right thugs unite" hashtag. It largely seems to be a simulated scandal/outrage to promote the Reform Party and Nigel Farage and - while also being an attack on Keir Starmer.

2) The campaign is ostensibly a reaction to Starmer saying that the recent riots have been conducted by a 'tiny minority' of 'thugs'. He has also blamed the far right, although he never used the term 'far right thugs'. In fact, as we'll see later, this term was used by Farage.

3/ Starmer is the largest node in the network as many people are tagging him to express solidarity with the 'far right'. This is based on the false accusation that Starmer somehow called 'ordinary brits' far right thugs - which he didn't. #disinformation

4/ Weirdly now, it's led to people claiming to be in solidarity with the 'far right'. Indeed, the narrative almost seems to be trying to normalise the term 'far right', and make it synonymous with 'average Reform voter'

5/ An analysis of the biographies of the accounts tweeting on the hashtag reveals something interesting. Most are pro-Reform accounts. The most common biographical term is in fact 'Reform'. (Woke is there but only in the context of 'anti-woke'

6/ The first known example of the trend came from a pro Reform account, who pasted a weird message that looks like a network-building attempt, "Apparently I’m a ‘Far Right Thug’ I want to follow fellow ‘Far Right Thuggish’ ordinary UK citizens Please, like, repost and follow❤️"

7/ The same account also mentioned something that seemed like the underlying message of this campaign "anyone centrist is a mindless far right thug, apparently". Again, it seems like an attempt to create the idea that Starmer was calling ordinary citizens far right thugs

8/ Another bizarre element to this is that the majority of the content on the hashtag in terms of impressions is copy and paste. The copy and paste messages constitute 66% of all impressions.

9/ What's weird, it's not clear who told them to copy and paste.Why do people not just retweet. Is it normal behaviour to automatically copy and paste a message and post it? These copy and paste message got lots of impressions, despite the accounts not having that many followers

10/ Another interesting element is that the account with the most impressions on this hashtag is ReformUK member, @TalkTV Host, and former employee of Cambridge Analytica's parent company SCL Group @ThatAlexWoman (Alexandra Philips)

11/ Again this sequencing of tweets shows how many of those getting lots of impressions were simply copy and pasting the same content. Here you can see the green dot, which is Alexandra Philips.

12/ Another Reform element of this campaign was that although @nigel_Farage did not tweet the hashtag, his video directed at Keir Starmer was one of the most important nodes within the network.

13/ In the video Farage falsely suggests that Starmer is blaming everything on the far right 'His Conclusion, is very simple, it's all the Far Right'. He goes on to justify the existence of the far right as a response to fear, discomfort and unease shared by 'tens of millions'

14/ Ironically, Farage also uses the term 'far right thugs' in this. But ultimately Farage is attempting to suggest Starmer is branding non-violent right-leaning voters as 'far right thugs' - which Starmer did not do. It's effectively an anti-Starmer disinfo campaign designed

15/ to falsely create a grievance and scandal. The copy and paste tweets, and huge engagement, look like an organized campaign. It's also an attempt to reposition those who support or endorse the violence as victims of a labour smear.

16/ If I didn't know better I would say this is a crafted campaign designed to help ReformUK deflect from the right-wing nature of the current violence by trying to reframe it as a Labour failure and Starmer attack on 'White British' values.

- Not all bad though - Someone created Starmer in a pride Abaya and Hijab. Deranged.

Also strange accounts like this. Joined in May 2023 but only 5 spammy TEMU tweets and then a tweet about "far right thugs unite" with what looks like an AI generated headshot #disinformation