Belfast and the international networked far right
About this episode
The episode discusses the recent far-right violence in Northern Ireland and the global networks that fuel it, featuring insights from Heidi Birick.
Northern Ireland, the Far-Right, and the Battle for Democracy with Heidi Birick In this episode of the Explaining History Podcast, we are joined again by Heidi Birick of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism to discuss the recent far-right violence in Northern Ireland – and the global networks that fuelled it. In recent weeks, Northern Ireland was rocked by a series of violent attacks against migrant communities following an incident in which a Sudanese national attacked an NHS worker. The attack was not terrorist-related and had no connection to the wider migrant community. But the global far-right seized on the event, spreading misinformation across social media and calling for violence. The footage of the resulting attacks – houses burned, people terrified to leave their homes – had all the hallmarks of a pogrom. Heidi explains how far-right groups are tightly networked in the online space, sharing messaging across continents, coordinating through unmoderated chat channels like Telegram, and meeting in person at conferences to plan their strategy. Figures like Tommy Robinson and Elon Musk amplified the calls for violence – Musk, in particular, has been openly promoting…
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