The Truth Behind Hastings Freedom Fighters
By Sue Layparvey
There’s a new local group who call themselves the Hastings Freedom Fighters (HFF). They say that they are opposed to government restrictions imposed under coronavirus legislation. They have managed to organise one small demonstration in Alexandra Park but had a second one banned. It isn’t clear how much support they have in Hastings, as most of the participants don’t appear to live here. I’d like to show that their idea of freedom doesn’t quite add up.
They run a Facebook Group called Hastings Stop and Think (HST), which has some content about appropriate measures to take to combat the virus, buat mostly spills over into the outer fringes of ‘conspiracy theories’ where people talk about things like Covid-19 not being real, Bill Gates wanting to install microchips in everyone and wearing a mask makes you a slave and gives you cancer. Once you enter that world, you find people believe that Bill Gates also runs all the fact-checking websites, so it’s impossible to counter any of their unfounded arguments with rational fact. It’s a world that abuses and censors people who disagree with them.
Adam Niescioruk/Unsplash
But there’s a very serious side to all this. As I will go on to explain, it appears from the Facebook group tightly moderated by their organisers that HFF are also promoting far-right extremism. While they campaign against masks and social distancing, some feel that this is just a front for their real aims.
There’s no doubt that there’s a great deal of confusion and fear in Hastings about Covid-19, as well as resentment at the inept way the Conservative Government has responded to it. It’s therefore inevitable that there should be a confused response from the general public and there is a danger that unsavoury organisations like HFF could use the current chaotic situation to promote right-wing ideas.
HST is a closed Facebook Group. This means that you have to be a member to post or comment. It is heavily moderated by the organisers of HFF. If you make comments that the organisers disagree with, the comments are deleted – do it too much and you get banned. The moderation follows a clear pattern: posts that support Black Lives Matter are swiftly deleted but posts which promote white supremacist websites are not.
This Facebook Group is the official mouthpiece of HFF. Although there is a focus on anti-vaxx and anti-science content, it is also a magnet for a whole ragbag of extreme right-wing ideas, from 911 Truthers to Qanon. There are many comments that rubbish Climate Change and others that show a visceral hatred of Extinction Rebellion. There are a large number of references to the “New World Order” and the “Rothschilds” which give the distinct impression of being used to justify anti-Semitic views. Anti-Semitic comments are not deleted by the moderators. Comments that challenge these conspiracy theories are deleted very quickly.
Many of the members of HST (including the two main organisers of the group) frequently raise another anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that claims that George Soros is behind everything they disagree with. This particular conspiracy theory has been raised on multiple occasions in reference to Black Lives Matter.
Both the main organisers of HFF have used HST to state unequivocally that they do not support the anti-racist organisation, publishing posts that called BLM a “hate group” and stating plainly that they would “NEVER support Black Lives Matter” because it was supposedly created “by George Soros to incite hate, MORE division and civil unrest”. Others in HST have posted comments that called members of BLM “thugs” and “terrorists” and even made the offensive suggestion that George Floyd’s murder was “staged”. Any mention of Black Lives Matter on the Facebook Group unleashes a torrent of racist victim-blaming and insults (which are not deleted by the moderators).
In reality BLM is a genuine grassroots response triggered by a series of horrible police murders which have compounded the daily racist experience of African Americans and minorities around the world.
Although many people don’t realise it, due to the way the media loves to focus on conflict rather than peaceful protest, a study produced by the US Crisis Project, a joint effort by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Bridging Divides Initiative (BDI) at Princeton University has shown that more than 93% of BLM demonstrations are entirely peaceful.
There are over a thousand members in the HFF-controlled HST but only about 40% of these live in Hastings or the surrounding area, with 10% based as far away as the USA or Canada. One member who was due to be a speaker at the Hastings Freedom Fighters cancelled demonstration, has previously been banned by Facebook for abusive behaviour. He frequently posts anti-Semitic conspiracies (he says that “Jewish Nazis are manipulating BLM, Antifa and Extinction Rebellion”) and has posted a large number of violent threats towards politicians and those he believes are controlling events in the world.
The group has also been actively promoting a series of events in London organised by a variety of anti-mask and anti-vaxx groups. It is at such gatherings that members of violent right-wing organisations like the EDL, football hooligan crews and flag-waving members of the British Union of Fascists have been identified amongst protesters who simply want a government that will support them through the crisis. Although these events aren’t organised by HFF they do raise alarming questions as to the sort of company they are keeping and world they are moving in.
Inevitably, a considerable number of those posting in HST espouse alternative medicine as a reaction to the corporate control of the pharmaceutical industry. These beliefs can easily move from tried and trusted alternative medicines and therapies to extreme ideas that might actually cause harm. Investigations have shown that right-wing organisations have even used aromatherapy websites to promote their ideas. Within this turmoil, HFF are seen by some to be exploiting the genuine anger about the current situation for an agenda of their own.
Whilst many people are unhappy with lockdown and Government restrictions (even Boris Johnson doesn’t agree with what Boris Johnson said last week!), HFF have a tendency to act as if they are the only people who are challenging the status quo.
However, Hastings has a long record of kicking against the system and a proud history of showing support for those who need help in our community. All across our town, people are responding to the crisis with compassion and mutual aid. We will always need rebellion and solidarity. We don’t need HFF and their divisive right-wing agenda.
• The writer lives and works in Hastings and has been part of the anti-fascist movement for over 40 years
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. The future of our volunteer led, non-profit publication would be far more secure with the aid of a small donation. You can also support local journalism by becoming a friend of HIP. It only takes a minute and we would be very grateful.
Thanks for this article, it helps to explain a lot, and does it in a very clear way. Much appreciated as it is vital this is publicised as much as possible.
Well said.
What a ridiculous biased utter horse crap article! Apparently anyone who opposes the draconian rules is far right now! The facts and data speaks for itself! More people have died from suicide that covid! You are discriminating lies, misinformation and libelous claims! There’s nothing far right about standing up for your RIGHTS! whoever wrote this is a Marxist moron, Ill informed and doing nothing but spreading lies and propaganda! Shame on you!
The article very clearly says it’s fair enough to oppose the draconian rules and stand up for your rights. It also very clearly shows that the Hastings Freedom Fighters are pushing a load of really bad right wing ideas. It’s possible for both these things to be true.
Fact check yourself. Do some research and this article will be debunked. funny how some comments have not been approved here. Who’s vetting who. #freedom fighters aiming to save lives and incomes. Come on wake up.
I for one am glad that there are people who see this nonsense for what it is. Lives are being destroyed and not from Faux-vid! 1600 people die EVERY DAY in Britain on average, covid is responsible for a fraction of a fraction of those! Suicide, cancer, strokes and mental health have all increased massively, homes and jobs lost and for what? A corona virus which, which we’ve had since the victorian times, if you cannot see there is an agenda at play here then you are the fool! God bless those standing up for freedom, personal autonomy and the rights of the masses! I find this article to be unbelievably biased and without any merit. The masses are waking and it will be because of propaganda and lies like this article! Get some damn perspective, people need people and jobs and homes! Not fear and misery! ENOUGH NOW!
You didn’t fancy asking anyone in the actual group any questions then? Just decided to spout your own bullshit rendition of what you think people’s opinions might be on there.
For the record it is certainly not a right wing racist anti Semitic group. It’s just some people wondering what the hell is going on, sharing information, and making connections with similarly minded people. Anyone who isn’t interested can stick to the ‘real’ news if they choose.
If they post right wing, racist and anti Semitic stuff on their Facebook page (as shown in this article) how can they NOT be a right wing racist anti Semitic group? It’s a members-only group. Was it all just repeatedly posted up by mistake?
You didn’t fancy asking anyone in the actual group any questions then? Just decided to spout your own misguided rendition of what you think people’s opinions might be on there.
For the record it is certainly not a right wing racist anti Semitic group. It’s just some people wondering what the hell is going on, sharing information, and making connections with similarly minded people. Anyone who isn’t interested can stick to the ‘real’ news if they choose.
Great article! This awful group are preying on people’s genuine fears and confusion to push really dodgy ideas. More investigative articles like this please.
Interesting stance, but I find it utterly ridiculous how truths about really quite unpleasant people become anti semetic when in fact they are just nasty people regardless. This is old hat trick to raise hackles without much substance and omits that Rockafella, was the most self serving of men in the world plus control of banks than Rob us blind and Soros finances violence to name but a few evils, But it does raise some points albeit non in an encouraging way. Its a shame that you Did not take to time out to interview one or more of the people involved to get facts rather than assumptions. But I am impressed that you did indeed at least broach some very polorizing subjects in a time where truths are limited and media mis information is the food for the masses creating an atmosphere of fear over an illness that is in effect a new cold that requires the usual virus procol.
I wrote this article and I can assure all of the people commenting that there is not one thing in it that is untrue. Every single comment, quote or reference made by members of the Hastings Freedom Fighters in this article is a verifiable fact. I have indeed had conversations with members of the group. I appreciate that if you are part of this group it may be very uncomfortable to be shown the reality of what you’ve gotten yourself involved in but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t happening. You’re not alone – there are many other groups in the anti-mask movement which are also being manipulated by right wing extremists. That’s why it’s important for HIP to put the truth out there so everyone can see what’s really going on.
https://www.facebook.com/Breesmedia/videos/4771723936186034/
What real investigive reports know, because they truely look into this shit. You just label with yesterday’s tag…
‘Right wing extremists’ is a reaction manipulation term used by the seperist adgenda for antagonising people after many years of brainwashing this term now causes a gut reaction of anguish. Not one person in this group is. Its time for a new form of antagonism, this far right slander slang is just so old hat now… But glad you bothered to write the article, albeit a negative on a positive that people are actually thinking for themselves and not attached to their nanny govmt pinny strings.
I’m a fairly long term member of the Facebook group under attack from this piece and cannot see it the way the author does. An alternative title to the article might be “Left-wing Conservative accuses broadly anti-fascist group of supporting the far-right”. There is more than a hint of cognitive dissonance about it. There is also a hint that the author has more-or-less copied the incredibly biased and wildly inaccurate reports in the MSM about the recent Trafalgar Square protests. I’m sure the author’s heart is in the right place, but her head surely isn’t. The group’s tenets are pretty clear and NOT supportive of the far-right by any stretch of the imagination. They might censor some comment, but the reasons for this are explained in an admin-penned post (that appears in the group’s “Announcements” and “Discussion” pages) dated 17th September (I have suggested they pin the post to make it more obvious to newcomers). It’s published opinions like this (the HIP article) that are currently causing friction in friendships across the country (at least one of which is mine) and feeding into the apparent divide and rule approach of the current government. I don’t deny the author’s right to have an opinion, but I’d ask them to perhaps rethink it in this case. Hateful attacks on the author really do not do the group (that is the subject of the article) any favours by the way, and I’d ask any supporters of the group to think about that before they post such attacks.
It is a blessing for those affected by the nonsense rules and fear put into us by the government, that these group exist! It is so good to know that other people think and feel that this ‘solution’ we are being given for coronavirus is actually bigger than the problem itself !!! They seem to have a lot more support than you think!!! Not all of us want to give up our rights and it’s a huge relief to know there are like minded people
Unfortunately, what Sue has done here is take a 50,000 piece jigsaw puzzle, glanced briefly at the source image on the box and decided she hates a part of it. She’s then thrown the box in the bin along with half the pieces and in her dissociated state, has set about putting together the other half of the pieces she’s decided to keep in a completely random, haphazard manner. The end result is her own deranged construction which bares no resemblance whatsoever to the original image. She can then scream: ‘Look, this is what I found in the box!!’.
What we’re left with has all the hallmarks of dumbed down and utterly confused tabloid rhetoric. I’d suggest anyone reading this head over to the Hastings Independent Facebook page where a few bright people have brought some common sense and understanding to what this group is ACTUALLY about. To start with, many in this group are Corbyn supporters, not ‘right wing extremists’ though there are countless examples there of Sue’s omissions, obfuscations, confusion and personal political agenda in writing this completely untruthful article. On the HIP FB page you will find ‘Sue’ using a fake Facebook account and fake photo to defend her vitriol.
Once again. Every single comment, quote or reference made by members of the Hastings Freedom Fighters in this article is a verifiable fact. You may not like it but it’s true. If your organisation’s official members-only mouthpiece includes a great deal of right wing, anti-Semitic or racist posts it doesn’t really matter if you *think* your organisation isn’t right wing or if you *claim* the group is “non political”. It is a fact: your organisation is promoting these right wing extremist ideas. All these posts have to be approved by the group admins. They didn’t get published by accident.
If “Corbyn supporters” in the group actually exist, I can’t imagine them letting these posts go unchallenged – but every time yet another anti-Semitic post is published no-one speaks out. Maybe your argument is that there aren’t *that many* racist or right wing comments? I’m fairly sure that organisations which aren’t racist don’t have ANY racist comments in their official statements. The group admins spend a lot of time deleting comments they disagree with and banning people they think are causing arguments but don’t seem to be putting any effort at all into preventing racist, anti-Semitic or right wing posts being published – indeed as this article shows, they actually post them themselves.
Once again. There’s a great deal of confusion and fear in Hastings about Covid-19, as well as resentment at the inept way the Conservative Government has responded to it. Although HFF have a tendency to act as if they are the only people who are challenging the status quo, they are not the only ones fighting the Government. You don’t have to be right wing to oppose draconian laws. As my article says HFF are seen by some to be exploiting the genuine anger about the current situation for an agenda of their own. That might be uncomfortable for some people to hear but that doesn’t mean it’s not true.
I was already thinking that some of the posts I was reading were a bit ‘right wing’, to say the least. While seeming to have concern about some things, disdain for others. I found the article from looking up HFF, having seen the logo.
It does seem a mish mash of crazy ideas. Flat Earth, ruled by 9ft lizards springs to mind. Then when you read ‘Ilooked it up on Bitchute’, you know you’ve hit the mark. Hopefully these crazies, mimicking the US crazies ,can be shown for what they are. Thanks for the article, good job someebody’s watching.
Got to keep the Loonies on the Path ( Pink Floyd ). That is not to say there is not legitimate concern for mental illness during this pandemic, and other times, or that Big Pharma do not have questions to answer.
Johnson has said, after the pandemic, we cannot just go back to normal. Well, I agree, because ‘normal’ was never good enough, not for the low paid, disabled, and many other groups.