Tommy Robinson supporters are using a new ‘freedom of speech’ tool to get around media ‘censors’ and social media bans.

Just as the far-right activist was purged from Facebook and Instagram yesterday, a new platform for white supremacists and other extremists to comment freely on any news article or web page was launched.

The downloadable browser add-on is called Dissenter and it was created by Gab – a social network that claims to be a free speech alternative to Twitter and Facebook.

The Former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson has been banned from social media (Picture: PA)

Gab quickly became a haven for neo-Nazis and other extremists when it launched in 2016. It’s where Robert Bowers, the alleged gunman accused of killing 11 Jewish worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue last year, left one final message saying he was ‘going in’ before the massacre.




Another such user, Aryan Spirit, freely spouts off dozens of anti-Semitic memes and misty-eyed quotes and pictures from Nazi Germany every day.

Extreme views are part and parcel of the Gab experience which enshrines freedom of speech above all else.

According to Gab CEO Andrew Torba, the purpose of Dissenter is to apply Gab’s ‘free speech’ to the whole internet.

The Dissenter platform allows Gab users to start up a ‘comment section’ on any web page, be it news article, YouTube video or tweet.

Comments can get going in the pop-up thread or back on the Dissenter website.

Gab users use the Dissenter pop-up thread to comment on a BBC article that has disabled comments (Picture: BBC)

Aryan fan page on Gab can say what it likes without being moderated (Picture: Gab)

Even if a news site has shut off or disabled comments on a story, the Dissenter button allows users to chat without fear of being silenced.

Dissenter also allows users who have been blocked by Twitter or Facebook to get round the bans by commenting on any tweet or post.

This could, in theory, allow Robinson – who has his own verified Gab page with 20,000 followers – to return to the social media platforms he is banned from using.

In the BBC’s article announcing Robinson’s latest social media ban, the comment section has been disabled.

But in its place, there is a flowing conversation on Dissenter.

Gab users can paste URLs on the Dissenter website to begin a discussion (Picture: Dissenter)

One Gab user, Crusader Keith, proclaimed his joy at being able to say what he likes on a BBC article.

He wrote: ‘It’s so refreshing to find the real people’s comments whose voices have been purged 1984 style all across the entire internet!’

Announcing the platform’s launch this week, Mr Torba wrote: ‘Dissenter has become a necessary tool due to rampant corporate censorship of ordinary internet users, whether that takes the form of YouTube demonetizing millions of videos and removing comment sections, Facebook and Instagram banning British activist Tommy Robinson for his political opinions.’

Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – was found to have repeatedly broken both sites’ policies on hate speech in posts that called for violence targeted at Muslims, Facebook said.

The English Defence League founder broke rules that ban public calls for violence against people based on protected characteristics, broke rules that ban supporting or appearing with organised hate groups and broke rules that prevent people from using the site to bully others.

In a recent video, the far-right activist was recorded making a racist slur and bragging about getting drugs ‘everywhere he goes’.

Tommy Robinson has over 20,000 followers on Gab (Picture: Gab)

Tommy Robinson in one of his controversial social media videos (Picture: Facebook)

Robinson, who has several criminal convictions including for cocaine possession, is seen in the video claiming: ‘No matter where I’ve gone in the world I score, I’ve gone to f***ing Qatar, to Doha, and scored gear on the sesh while they’re all praying.



‘Everywhere mate, every city I’ve gone to.’

He then appears to make racist comments while asking for a taxi, which he describes as ‘little P*** that drives a car’.

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In a statement, Facebook said: ‘We want Facebook to be a place where you can express yourself freely and share openly with friends and family. At the same time, when people come to Facebook we always want them to feel welcome and safe.

‘This is something we take incredibly seriously. So when ideas and opinions cross the line and amount to hate speech that may create an environment of intimidation and exclusion for certain groups in society – in some cases with potentially dangerous offline implications – we take action.

‘Our public Community Standards state this sort of speech is not acceptable on Facebook – and when we become aware of it, we remove it as quickly as we can.

‘Our rules also make clear that individuals and organisations that are engaged in ‘organised hate’ are not allowed on the platform, and that praise or support for these figures and groups is also banned. This is true regardless of the ideology they espouse.

‘Tommy Robinson’s Facebook Page has repeatedly broken these standards, posting material that uses dehumanising language and calls for violence targeted at Muslims.

‘He has also behaved in ways that violate our policies around organised hate. As a result, in accordance with our policies, we have removed Tommy Robinson’s official Facebook Page and Instagram profile.’

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