Extremist groups targeting young people on social media

FKD is the third Neo-Nazi organisation in just six months to be proscribed as a terrorist group by the Government. With effect from today (July 17), it is now an offence to be a member of, or support, FKD, with those found guilty facing up to ten years in prison and an unlimited fine.

Deputy Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, Assistant Chief Constable Tim Jacques, said it was “yet another step forward in our battle against this hateful ideology”.

FKD is a small, international neo-Nazi organisation that follows a white supremacist ideology and also advocates ‘accelerationism’ – which is the use of violence and acts of terrorism to bring about a ‘race war’ and the fall of existing social and political systems.

It promotes its ideology online through the sharing of violent white supremacist propaganda, commonly using social media platforms to target young people aged between 13 and 25.

Mr Jacques said: “Today’s proscription is yet another step forward in our battle against this hateful ideology, which aims to incite hatred and violence between our communities.

“Last year we called right-wing terrorism the fastest-growing terrorist threat in the UK, but despite this rapid growth it thankfully still has a relatively small footprint in this country.

“However, we must do everything we can to stop it growing further in terms of reach and influence – and this proscription helps us in that fight.”

He added: “Our world class Counter Terrorism Network has become adept at identifying and disrupting these groups, but like the recently proscribed Sonnenkrieg Division, and National Action before that, we should expect FKD to splinter and rebrand under a different name.

“We will continue to use every power at our disposal to arrest and charge those who support this group and those like it, but we can only hope to beat this insidious ideology by stopping young and vulnerable people from following the path towards extremism in the first place.”

Analysts at Counter Terrorism Policing have found that groups like FKD are increasingly targeting young people with their rhetoric and propaganda, reporting that young people who engage with right-wing extremism are highly likely to do so online.

The groups often use mainstream social media platform to post non-extreme information regarding popular or relatable topics, with the intention of engaging these younger audiences before encouraging them to migrate to less moderated platforms where they can share more graphic and extreme content.

“Too often recently we have seen young people in the UK jailed after being lured towards extremism and violence by what they consume online,” said Mr Jacques.

“We don’t want to be in the business of convicting children and young people, but when they become a risk to themselves and others we must take the appropriate action to protect the public.

“We can stop this from happening, but it requires parents, friends and family to help us by talking to their children about what they view online, and sharing their concerns when they suspect someone they know is in danger of being radicalised. It is a difficult thing to do, but we must see it for what it is – action which could potentially save their life and the lives of others.”

The decision to proscribe FKD followed a meeting of the Proscription Review Group, which brings together representatives from the police and other partners to assess the risk posed by groups that may be considered for proscription.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “This vile white supremacist group advocates violence and seeks to sow division, targeting young and vulnerable people online.

“I am determined to do everything I can to stop the spread of extreme ideologies that encourage and glorify terrorism, which is why I have taken action to proscribe this group.”