Skip to main content

Far-right smear campaign against Antifa exposed by Bellingcat

Far-right smear campaign against Antifa exposed by Bellingcat

Two images of Anna Friel from a domestic violence campaign. The doctored image, on the left, features an anti-fascist logo and the caption "53% of white women voted for Trump. 53% of white women should look like this"Image copyrightTWITTER/WOMENS AID
Image captionFalsified pictures circulating on social media (l) include an image of Anna Friel from a 2007 anti-domestic violence campaign (r)
Far-right activists are using fake Twitter accounts and images of battered women to smear anti-fascist groups in the US, an online investigation has revealed.
The online campaign is using fake Antifa (an umbrella term for anti-fascist protestors) Twitter accounts to claim anti-fascists promote physically abusing women who support US President Donald Trump or white supremacy.
Researcher Eliot Higgins of website Bellingcatfound evidence that the campaign is being orchestrated on internet messageboard 4Chan by far-right sympathisers.
One image shows the slogan "53% of white women voted for Trump, 53% of white women should look like this", above a photograph of a woman with a bruised and cut face and an anti-fascist symbol.
The woman pictured is actually British actress Anna Friel and the photograph was taken for a Women's Aid anti-domestic violence campaign in 2007.
The images first started circulating on social media late on 23 August with hashtags #PunchNazis, #MakeRacistsAfraidAgain and #BashTheFash.
Accounts appearing to belong to anti-fascist groups tweeted the memes, calling on activists to physically attack women who voted for Trump.
A Twitter account from @Antifascist19 shows a photo of a battered woman with the text Image copyrightTWITTER/WOMENS AID
Image captionAccounts posing as Antifa groups and Trump supporters using #PunchNazis hashtag
Prominent far-right individuals such as Joseph Paul Watson also retweeted the memes.
Twitter account @RockMountAntifa, claiming to be an anti-fascist group in Utah, tweeted 29 of these images in four hours.
"She said she was right-wing, so I gave her a left hook," one read.
However, the account shows tell-tale signs of being fake: The account was only created this month and its first tweet was on 24 August, while the only tweets posted were the 29 images.
Eliot Higgins, who traced evidence of chemical weapons use in Syria, found evidence the anti-Antifa campaign was organised on 4Chan, which has a reputation for acting as a meeting place for alt-right groups, and runs a "politically incorrect" board with extreme racist and homophobic comments.
Mr Higgins posted a screenshot of a call to action on the message board, which encouraged far-right sympathisers to search online for images of domestic violence, add their own slogan such as "She deserves it for being a Nazi," then post them on social media using pre-determined hashtags.
Screenshot from a 4Chan messageboard with instructions: Get pictures - search Image copyrightELIOT HIGGINS
These images are the same as those being circulated by fake anti-fascist accounts.

You might also be interested in:


The campaign appears to aim to discredit Antifa groups at a time of heightened tension in the United States after 32-year-old Heather Heyer was killed when protesting against a far-right march in Charlottesville last week.
Following the march, US President Donald Trump accused left-wing groups of being as equally to blame as far-right protestors for the violence, drawing widespread condemnation for equating the two.
Mr Higgins told the BBC the campaign was "pretty clumsy", with obvious signs of being orchestrated.
"Many of the accounts tweeting the images were clearly made in the last ten hours and had very few followers," Mr Higgins explained.
"This was a transparent and quite pathetic attempt, but I wouldn't be surprised if white nationalist groups try to mount more sophisticated attacks in the future."

Comments

TRENDING

Stormy Daniels seeks Trump testimony on her sex claims

Soy Sauce Noodles With Cabbage and Fried Eggs Recipe

Smash Burgers secret Recipes

Empire Market Vendor from Texas Charged in a Multi-million Dollar Darknet Drug Distribution Conspiracy

Man Utd ‘Fail With Initial Transfer Bid’ for Benfica Defender Ruben Dias

Vegetarian Top cook Book

Egg Salad

Facebook Risks Hindering Child Abuse and Terrorism Investigations by Hiding Online Messages

Popular posts from this blog

Stormy Daniels seeks Trump testimony on her sex claims

New post Stormy Daniels seeks Trump testimony on her sex claims 25 minutes ago Share this with Facebook   Share this with Twitter   Share Media caption Stormy Daniels: 'I was threatened' Adult-film star Stormy Daniels has filed a court motion for US President Donald Trump to testify about her claim that they had a relationship. Her lawyer wants sworn testimony from Mr Trump about a "hush" agreement the actress says she signed. The attorney, Michael Avenatti, is also seeking a legal interview with the president's lawyer. Ms Daniels alleges she had unprotected sex with Mr Trump in 2006 a year after he married Melania Trump. He denies it. Mr Avenatti's motion, filed in a court in the Central District of California early on Wednesday, ramps up the legal duel between the porn star and the president. Should Trump be worried about Stormy Daniels? The president and the porn star: Why this matters Ex-model ...

Soy Sauce Noodles With Cabbage and Fried Eggs Recipe

  Soy Sauce Noodles With Cabbage and Fried Eggs Time: 30 minutes  Soy sauce noodles, a traditional Cantonese dish frequently eaten for breakfast or lunch at dim sum, are hearty enough to be served for dinner as well. Contrary to the traditional dish, which includes bean sprouts and frequently garlic chives, this recipe calls for cabbage because it has a nice textural crunch and plenty of scallions since they pack a strong flavor. Regular and dark soy sauce, or lăochu in Cantonese, are simply mixed together to make the soy sauce seasoning. It imparts the noodles' very rich color. Tamari also works nicely if black soy sauce is not an option. Although thin egg noodles are typically used in this recipe, any dry wheat noodles would work in a pinch. INGREDIENTS Yield: 4 servings FOR THE NOODLES Kosher salt 7 ounces dried (or 16 ounces fresh) thin egg noodles Neutral oil, such as vegetable or grapeseed 4 large eggs ½ small green cabbage (1½ pounds), core removed then thinly sliced 1 ...

Smash Burgers secret Recipes

  Smash Burgers TIME :20 minutes  This is the typical griddled hamburger found in restaurants and fast food joints. Its edges have been grilled to a crispness. Instead of using a grill, it is better to cook in a large, cast-iron pan that has been greased with fat or oil. For beef, you can either grind your own or ask a butcher for coarse-ground chuck steak that has at least 20% fat content. Use an ice-cream scoop or spoon to handle it instead of your fingers, and store it in the refrigerator until you're ready to cook. A few ounces should be dropped into the pan, mashed with a spatula, salt it, and then turned over when it has become crisp. Then toast your bun and add cheese. The procedure proceeds swiftly. INGREDIENTS Yield: 4 to 8 servings ½teaspoon neutral oil, like canola, or a pat of unsalted butter 2pounds ground chuck, at least 20 percent fat Kosher salt and black pepper to taste 8slices cheese (optional) 8soft hamburger buns, lightly toasted Lettuce leaves, sliced toma...

Empire Market Vendor from Texas Charged in a Multi-million Dollar Darknet Drug Distribution Conspiracy

Empire Market Vendor from Texas Charged in a Multi-million Dollar Darknet Drug Distribution Conspiracy       Two Texas men were charged in a complaint unsealed on February 12 for their alleged participation in a drug distribution conspiracy perpetrated over the Darknet.    Kevin Ombisi, 31, and Eric Russell Jr., 35, both of Katy, were each charged in a complaint filed in the Western District of Tennessee. Ombisi is charged with one count of conspiracy and one count of unlawful distribution of controlled substances, and Russell is charged with one count of conspiracy. Ombisi and Russell were arrested on February 11. The complaint alleges that Ombisi and Russell used a marketplace on the Darknet and an encrypted messaging service called Wickr to sell pills that were made to resemble the drug branded as Adderall. In reality, the pills were not Adderall. Instead, they contained methamphetamine. In conjunction with the...