If you’ve been following the media fortunes of Momentum, the grassroots group of Jeremy Corbyn supporters, you may have noticed that it never just “does” anything. Instead, this group “plots”, “purges” and “takes control” of elements of the Labour party, often by operating like a “mob”, a bunch of “fanatics” and a “cult” that drives all reasonable people away. Such has been the overwhelming media narrative around this group ever since it was set up in 2015.

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This perception has remained oddly resilient to contact with reality. Meeting actual Momentum members, who turn out to be bafflingly normal, only confirms the overarching story: either they are hopeless naïfs in thrall to Trotskyist manipulators, or their niceness is an aberrational blip in a sea of nastiness. During last year’s snap election, the group mobilised thousands of campaigners and was lauded for the difference it made, notably in securing marginal seats for Labour. Yet even this unambiguous achievement only momentarily dispelled the portrayal of Momentum as a shadowy cult.

And so it is with the NEC vote, for positions on Labour’s governing body. The vote closes this Friday and Momentum is set to “grab” or “seize” three new positions rather than, you know, just straightforwardly win them through a transparent, democratic vote. Those seats, if secured, will give pro-Corbyn voices an overall majority. Now that, you might think, is hardly a huge surprise. Labour members elected Jeremy Corbyn – twice – and so could be expected to vote for NEC candidates sympathetic to his politics as well. The panic over the NEC takeover comes hot on the heels of tirades about Momentum imposing its people on local councils and as constituency candidates. But it turns out this isn’t the case either. Not all selections end up with Corbyn supporters; it seems other factors, such as relations built between local members and their candidate during the snap election, are having more sway.

But what’s striking about the outcry over Momentum is how off point it is. Corbyn’s leadership both inspired Momentum and swelled Labour’s membership to over half a million – injecting dynamism, creating the largest political party in western Europe. If other wings of the party haven’t been able to generate this kind of support, surely the most pertinent question is: well, why not? If Momentum is so unrepresentative and cultish, why aren’t the supposedly more “moderate”, reasonable groups the ones galvanising voters and generating a vital membership surge? Rather than endlessly tirade against Corbyn, perhaps these are the issues to grapple with.

Meanwhile, it seems that the actual business of getting more people engaged in politics will, viewed through one lens, look like democratisation but, seen through another will just look like a rabble taking over. Corbyn has frequently talked about making the leadership more responsive to the grassroots, rather than the other way around. But if your sensibilities were shaped during the polished, centralised and professionalised era of New Labour, chances are that this thing called democratisation might come across as unruly and unworkable.

Still, if Momentum wants to seize power on Corbyn’s behalf, it has an odd way of going about it. Currently, the group is working on an app to create links between Momentum groups and members. Giving people tools with which to talk to one another and organise in an unmediated way is pretty much the opposite of what you’d do if you wanted to put control in the hands of a few. Momentum has already campaigned alongside unions and others, most recently in a Christmas campaign video with the Communication Workers Union and with McDonald’s workers striking over zero-hours contracts.

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While the British media fumes over a Momentum takeover, political organisations in other countries are looking at how they might replicate the group’s runaway success in building grassroots political engagement and electoral gains. In Italy a new movement, Power to the People, was inspired by Momentum and set up late last year, already spreading to 90 cities and towns around the country. A Momentum spokesperson says its representatives gave talks in Austria and Greece towards the end of last year and the group already has invitations from the US, Norway and Sweden lined up for 2018. Around the world, the progressive left is looking at Labour and Momentum for political inspiration. Here, it’s like a British success story that must not be told.

• Rachel Shabi is a freelance writer and commentator