BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

Why is Britain First big online?

  • Published
    29 November 2017
Share page
About sharing
Britain First marchImage source, DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images
Mike Wendling
BBC Trending

The far-right group whose deputy leader was retweeted by Donald Trump has a specific social media strategy that has made it much more successful online than at the ballot box.

From the outset, Britain First's aim has been to make noise on Facebook and other networks rather than to get people elected. The group has nearly 2m likes - far outpacing the Labour Party (1m) and the Conservatives (650,000).

But the UK's most popular political organisation on Facebook has been a washout when it comes to electoral politics. Britain First has no elected representatives and rarely even runs candidates for office.

When they do, they attract a small amount of the vote. Party leader Paul Golding garnered 1.2% in the 2016 London mayoral election. It was recently deregistered as a political party by the Electoral Commission, external.

So what explains Britain First's outsized social media following?

For one thing, it uses paid advertising, external and a core group of dedicated followers, external to spread its message.

line

You might also be interested in:

  • Britain First deputy leader charged by PSNI

  • The anti-immigration party trying to recruit immigrants

  • WATCH: BBC Three: We Want Our Country Back

  • LISTEN: What's new about the new far right?

line

Britain First has also used less controversial posts - for instance messages encouraging people to support the armed forces or the royal family - and other tactics to drive up the numbers of likes.

A report released Wednesday by the campaign organisation Hope Not Hate said that the number of people following the social media accounts of Britain First leaders spikes in the wake of terror attacks, external.

The social media strategy has turned the party's Facebook page into an international hub for people attracted to anti-Islam messages - and despite the party's name, its fan base isn't particularly British at all.

BBC Trending on Facebook, external

According to an analysis carried out by Trending in July, fewer than half (44%) of the group's Facebook likes came from accounts based inside the UK, with large numbers of likes from the US, Australia and Canada.

By way of comparison, 87% of the Labour Party's likes at the time came from UK accounts, and the figure for the Conservative Party was 78%.

At the time, the party was also in the midst of a campaign to recruit Polish immigrants to its side, despite its stated goal to end nearly all inward immigration into the UK.

The party's deputy leader, Jayda Fransen, told BBC Trending that party operatives were focusing on "relentless" direct action.

Fransen, who earlier this month was charged with using "threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour" during speeches she made in Belfast, originally posted the three videos that President Trump's account retweeted.

She will appear at Belfast Magistrates' Court on Thursday 14 December.

YouTube video in Polish from Britain first. Fransen and Britain First have tried to appeal to Polish immigrants in the UKImage source, Britain First
Image caption,

Fransen and Britain First have tried to appeal to Polish immigrants in the UK

Fiyaz Mughal, director of the group Faith Matters and founder of Tell Mama, an anti-hate crime organisation, says Trump's retweets "re-energised far right groups by simply pressing three clicks of a button."

"They have effectively felt that their work is bleeding into the White House and so there is serious damage over what has happened today and there will be repercussions felt sadly over the next few months," he says.

"And for those Muslims who think there is a clash of civilisations taking place it confirms their warped view.

"So what the President has done today is to actually strengthen the hand of extremists."

Additional reporting by Anisa Subedar

Also from Trending: Flaw in YouTube's obscenity tracking tool

Anonymous child using a smartphoneImage source, Getty Images

Part of YouTube's system for reporting sexualised comments left on children's videos has not been functioning correctly for more than a year, say volunteer moderators. READ MORE

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, external, and find us on Facebook, external. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

Top stories

  • Live. 

    Israeli defence minister says criticism of Gaza City takeover plan 'will not weaken our resolve'

    • 4398 viewing4.4k viewing
  • Israel's Gaza City plan means more misery for Palestinians and big risk for Netanyahu

    • Published
      6 hours ago
  • Police 'sat on information' before man, 80, killed

    • Published
      2 hours ago

More to explore

  • What we know about Israel's plan to take over Gaza City

    Palestinians hold out pots and bowls, jostling to reach the front of a line as they await meals distributed by aid groups in Gaza City
  • US shrugs off Gaza escalation - drifting further away from allies

    US President Donald Trump greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he arrives for a meeting at the West Wing of the White House
  • Big Mags: The paedophile-hunting granny who built a heroin empire

    Mags Haney outside her home in the Raploch talking to two police officers. The photo from the mid 1990s shows Haney with short bleached blond hair and big earrings. She is wearing a pink cardigan and and orange t-shirt. A number of locals are standing around watching the scene
  • Why does sunshine make you feel happy?

    • Attribution
      Weather
    A young girl wearing sports clothes jumps off a board on a beach with her arms raised in the air, the sea is behind and there is a lot of hazy sunshine
  • India's immigration raids send ripples through slums and skyscrapers alike

    A woman stands in a slum in Delhi
  • Watch: See where China plans to put its controversial mega-embassy

    A composite image of Damian Grammaticas and the proposed China embassy
  • Weekly quiz: Which baby names took top spot?

    A stock photo shows a baby looking directly at the camera while pouting as they prop their head up on an outdoor chair with bokeh depth of field behind.
  • Who is most likely to challenge Liverpool this season?

    • Attribution
      Sport
    Liverpool celebrate with Premier League trophy
  • Summer Essential: Your family’s guide to the summer, delivered to your inbox every Tuesday

    concentric circles ranging from orange to yellow to represent the sun, with a blue sky background
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Police 'sat on information' before man, 80, killed

  2. 2

    New signs found of giant gas planet in 'Earth's neighbourhood'

  3. 3

    Boy, 15, found guilty of murdering fellow pupil

  4. 4

    Sturgeon memoir describes arrest as 'worst day of my life'

  5. 5

    River Island allowed to shut shops to stave off collapse

  6. 6

    Comedian accused of indecent assault in BBC studio

  7. 7

    Boy, 4, dies after being hit by bus as he walked out of hospital

  8. 8

    MP mistakes charity rowers for 'illegal migrants'

  9. 9

    Teenager who lost his legs in crash will 'never forgive' driver

  10. 10

    US diplomat says UK would have lost WW2 with Starmer as leader

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • Your latest reality TV obsession has landed on iPlayer

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Destination X
  • Jacob Elordi stars in explosive war drama

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    The Narrow Road to the Deep North
  • Inside the front-line fight against cybercriminals

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Panorama: Fighting Cyber Criminals
  • A rare glimpse into the world of rope access

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Our Lives: High Stakes
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.