Far-right group Generation Identity have been banned from Facebook across Europe Generation Identity, a group that promotes far-right ideas and whose members have been described as ‘hipster fascists’, has been banned […]

Generation Identity, a group that promotes far-right ideas and whose members have been described as ‘hipster fascists’, has been banned from Facebook.

GI and its linked European group, the ‘Identitarian Movement’, had multiple pages on the site, with specific UK pages for London, Manchester, Birmingham and Belfast among others. While the pages were growing, none had a large number of followers.

Facebook confirmed to i they had been permanently banned from the site, citing their policies against extremist content and organised hate groups.

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While initially only some of the pages had been removed, over the course of a week the remaining pages were also taken down, across the UK and Europe. The group has previously been removed from Instagram as well.

Who are Generation Identity?

The UK arm of the group is affiliated with the Identitarian Movement in Europe, which has previously attempted to sabotage refugee rescue ship efforts and block border crossings in the Alps. One of the leading groups involved, Defend Europe, had its Facebook pages removed in May.

Generation Identity ideology is focused on the far-right principle of ethnopluralism, using it to promote nationalism, anti-immigration, and anti-Muslim sentiments. They have attempted to break with older, traditional right-wing movements and to rebrand be attractive to younger people using slick websites, social media, and younger activists.

The Austrian arm, which has also lost all its Facebook pages, is the best established and largest group, but recently had raids launched against prominent members. Austrian authorities pressed criminal charges against 17 people involved with the organisation, with prosecutors saying they attempted to “incite hatred” against Islam and Muslims.

The Austrian leader, Martin Sellner, has been banned from the UK, and another key figure who is based in Ireland, Tore Rasmussen, has also been refused entry to the UK.

Generation Identity in the UK

In the UK, Generation Identity have undertaken a number of stunts, including handing out “pork” meals to homeless people, in order to prevent homeless Muslims from eating them, and flying anti-Islam banners in public places. They have also supported many far-right protests, including the Day For Freedom and Free Tommy Robinson.

Tom Dupré, the co-leader of the UK movement, who was fired from his job after his role in the anti-Islam group was revealed, said to i: “We are disappointed Facebook, a private company with a monopoly on a public service, has decided to ignore its responsibilities to protect free and open debate and silence us, when all we have called for is a calm and measured debate on the changes that are going on in our society.”

However, the public positions of the group are almost exclusively neo-fascist ideas like ethnopluralism, and the promotion of plans involving the repatriation of migrants. An ITV expose last year revealed that Sellner was deliberately hiding links between American white supremacists and the group themselves to protect the Generation Identity brand.

The group also claimed to i that their website traffic had been growing, but were were unable to provide any proof of this.