All over the internet and throughout the country, a phalanx of right-wing hate preachers are ready to take every monstrous event and blame it on all Muslims, perpetuating that false black-and-white idea. In doing so, those who profess to care the most about defeating terrorism continue to contribute directly to the exact spiral of alienation and division the terrorists want.

The Islamic State called it the "grayzone" – where Muslims can be loyal to their religion and identity while still fitting into wider society. Islamist terrorists want to destroy this grayzone and give Muslims a black-and-white choice: become an apostate or become an extremist.

While the words of these right-wing hate preachers may be snake oil bullshit, they have real consequences for communities across the UK who are subjected to a spike in racist incidents after every attack. Our special investigation – Hate Island – is a guide to the movements, individuals and subcultures that incubate this hatred and unleash it on the world.

The recent trial of far-right terrorist Darren Osborne gave proof – if proof were needed – of the impact of this toxic discourse. Before ploughing a rented van into worshippers outside the Finsbury Park Mosque, Osborne had printed out tweets written by Tommy Robinson – the former EDL leader, turned far-right gonzo journalist – and placed them on his dashboard.

Sadly, Osborne is far from the only person whose online obsession has quickly manifested itself in a murderous act, as evidenced by our look at IronMarch, an obscure neo-Nazi forum that took its members on a shared journey of radicalisation that resulted in an international wave of terror attacks.

Alarmingly, thanks to the current global political climate, this rhetoric is not confined to online spaces. As interest in the so-called alt-right continues to grow in America, we look at its self-declared UK home: the London Forum, where unhinged racists give talks asking, "Was Jesus a Nazi?" From its beginnings as a meeting of cranks interested in head measurements, the forum has become an organisational and ideological hub for far-right street protests, and a link between white supremacists on either side of the Atlantic.