Up to 150,000 people protesting against immigration reportedly marched through London on Saturday local time, with some protesters clashing with the police and wounding at least 26 officers, marking what was dubbed by the media as the biggest right-wing demonstrations in UK history.
More details were reported over the weekend. Tech billionaire Elon Musk spoke to protesters on Whitehall via videolink. Some protesters wore MAGA (Make America Great Again) hats, and several speakers at the demonstration also reportedly paid tribute to slain US conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
This London march has been interpreted by many Western media outlets as a large-scale eruption of emotions stemming from unresolved immigration issues and increasing social divisions. And the Kirk incident, which emerged as a political symbol during the protest, served as a stark reminder of increasingly radical right-wing narratives on a global scale. Some Chinese observers reached by the Global Times said radical right-wing icons, such as the march’s organizer Tommy Robinson and Kirk, are becoming increasingly appealing in the West.
What triggered this right-wing march in the UK? How was Robinson able to mobilize such a large crowd? Why did Kirk attract millions of followers on social media? In this story, the Global Times will take a detailed look at the rise of radical right-wing online influencers and opinion leaders like Robinson and Kirk, and explore what impact they have on the current global landscape and social conditions.
Robinson and his connection with US right-wing
March organizer Robinson was evidently a central figure at this right-wing demonstration, as The Guardian reported that during the march, the crowd broke into chants of Robinson’s first name, “Tommy,” and some also held signs in support of him.
Robinson, 42, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is probably one of the most influential right-wing activists in the West, with approximately 1.6 million followers on X. According to an October 2024 article by The New York Times, Robinson is the founder of the English Defence League (EDL), “an Islamophobic, nationalist group known for its violent street protests in the late 2000s and 2010s.”
Funding for Robinson and the EDL also largely comes from right-wing individuals or organizations.
In a December 2018 article, The Guardian revealed that he had received funding from a US tech billionaire and a think tank based in Philadelphia, and two other US think tanks, partly funded by some of the biggest names in right-wing funding, who “have published a succession of articles in support of Robinson.”
Robinson used to be a marginal figure in British politics, and was banned from Twitter (now known as X) in 2018 for breaching its rules on “hateful conduct,” reported The New York Times. However, after Musk bought Twitter in 2022 and renamed it X, Robinson’s account was reinstated, and soon gathered numerous followers online.
Robinson’s connection with Musk has never been a secret. On several occasions, Robinson has called billionaire Elon Musk his supporter, reported the Hindustan Times on Sunday. In January this year, Musk publicly called on X to “Free Tommy Robinson,” who had been sentenced to 18 months in prison for contempt of court in October 2024.
Notably, many other symbols associated with US right-wing individuals or organizations were also observed during the march, including MAGA hats and banners mourning Kirk. Joey Mannarino, a self-styled US right-wing commentator with some 640,000 followers on X, said he attended the march in London. The march “was inspiring,” Mannarino wrote on X. “It also made me realize that we, as right-wing Americans, have not stood up and been accounted for in some time.”
Some Chinese observers believe that the killing of Kirk was being used by Robinson to mobilize support. The prominent display of American radical right-wing symbols during the protests reflects the spillover of US political violence and the mutual support among global radical right-wing forces.
The US and the UK share significant ideological and cultural similarities, often described as “when America sneezes, Britain catches a cold.” Also, social media accelerates this dynamic, amplifying the resonance between radical right-wing groups in both countries, Teng Jianqun, a research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies and former director of its Department for American Studies, told the Global Times.
Surge of radical right-wing influencers
The recently gunned down Kirk was one of the most prominent radical right-wing influencers in recent years, and a representative figure symbolizing the surge of radical right-wing influencers and opinion leaders in the West, commented experts and observers reached by the Global Times.
Kirk, 31, was described by many media outlets as “an influential right-wing activist and a close ally of US President Donald Trump.” Before his murder, Kirk had amassed more than seven million followers on short-video platforms, and his accounts across the internet had gained extra millions of followers in the three days following his death, CNN reported on Sunday.
For years, Kirk’s controversial remarks had spanned multiple domains, including race, feminism, gender identity, and politics, many of which had been cited by numerous right-wing media outlets and netizens, while also sparking widespread criticism.
A search via Google’s AI Overview showed that Kirk’s followers primarily consisted of young conservatives, particularly from Generation Z and Millennials, but also included older conservative voters.
Kirk was among the growing cohort of radical right-wing influencers who, similarly, have drawn an increasing number of conservative followers, particularly among younger generations, through their sharp right-leaning remarks on political and social issues, complaints about dissatisfaction with the current state of society, formidable mobilization capabilities both online and offline, and, probably, personal charisma.
Isabella DeLuca is one of the big names on this list. Kirk’s killing “has awakened an army of believers,” said 25-year-old activist DeLuca, who was arrested in 2024 for her role in the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol and was pardoned by Trump in January, Politico reported.
Another name is Laura Loomer, 32, who was described by the BBC as a far-right conspiracy theorist. A former Republican congressional candidate, Loomer is also known for her anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim views. Though she had previously been banned by some social media platforms, she was reinstated on X after Musk’s takeover, and has amassed over a million followers, NPR reported. Loomer joined multiple Trump’s campaign events during the presidential election cycle of 2024, per public information.
Another one is Candace Owens, an African American conservative activist who attacked Black Lives Matter and said George Floyd was “not a good person.” She earned attention and praise from Trump himself years ago and the president has invited her to multiple White House events in his first term, reported the Business Insider.
Teng said that in recent years, radical right-wing movements have gained traction in some Western countries, and this surge stems from two main factors: First, increasing social polarization, particularly intensified racial tensions and widening economic disparities since 2019; second, opportunistic radical right-wing actors seeking power by exploiting divisive issues like immigration, economic policy, and gun control through inflammatory rhetoric.
The growing prominence of radical right-wing rhetoric, and actions in Europe and the US results from a combination of societal shifts toward conservatism and the strategic maneuvering of opportunists, intertwining to fuel this trend, according to Teng.
However, perhaps due to the fact that the interests and demands they represent are not always aligned, divisions and fractures within far-right groups are not uncommon. Loomer, for instance, published a lengthy post in July in which she criticized Kirk as a “charlatan” and “political opportunist” who engaged in “mental gymnastics” and “stabs the president in the back,” The Guardian reported on September 12.
Moreover, the suspect involved in the killing of Kirk has been identified as Tyler Robinson who comes from a MAGA family. According to CNN, one of Robinson’s former classmates said that several years ago in high school, Robinson – like his family – was politically conservative, and Robinson’s neighbors said that his parents are registered Republicans.
More division, instability to come
Why do some radical right-wing influencers, like Robinson and Kirk, have such a strong appeal to their followers and even the general public?
Teng believes that, in today’s media-saturated environment, irrational or uninformed individuals are easily swayed or manipulated. Radical right-wing influencers and elites exploit this susceptibility, steering public sentiment toward distorted political and social outcomes, making extreme and conservative ideologies more appealing to certain groups.
Moreover, it is increasingly the case that nowadays, a movement does not spontaneously emerge among the general public in the West but is, in fact, exploited by a small number of elites, said Cui Hongjian, a professor at the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at the Beijing Foreign Studies University.
“In other words, elites use so-called populism to challenge another group of elites,” Cui told the Global Times, saying that some right-wing online influencers, including a few politicians within the US’ MAGA camp, exemplify this situation. “Their words and deeds appeal to so-called public opinion, yet there are clear political motives behind them, still rooted in an elite mindset. This makes the issue even more complex.”
Social media platforms have become a kind of powerful magnetic field for right-wing influencers in this era of information explosion, continuously drawing the attention of an ever-growing public. A 2024 study by the Pew Research Center, which surveyed 10,658 Americans, revealed that an increasing number of young people in the US are getting their news from the accounts of social media influencers, most of whom are male and lean toward the right.
However, as observers have warned, academic attention and research on this phenomenon have lagged behind, to the extent that there has been a lack of awareness regarding the “rightward turn” that has occurred in several Western countries including the US in recent years.
Not only the academic community but also mainstream political parties in some Western countries have failed to recognize this trend, Cui noted. “They are either slow to react, insensitive to changes in today’s information dissemination and social interaction patterns, or simply unwilling to lower their stance,” Cui explained. “Therefore, when another group of elites, usually from the right wing, continuously takes the initiative to launch challenges using populism, these so-called mainstream parties can only follow behind.”
As violent incidents such as shootings and marches with injuries have recently occurred in more than one country, more people have realized that, the rise of radical right-wing influencers is increasing, and may continue to further deepen social division and political polarization, analysts warned.
“When economic or political systems falter, extremist ideologies, including far-right ones, seize the opportunity to gain traction. This mirrors historical examples, such as Hitler’s rise during Germany’s economic crisis, where he positioned himself as a savior, manipulating public support and leading Europe into catastrophe,” Teng noted.
Similarly, interest groups or individuals today push far-right agendas through extreme actions or rhetoric to gain power. If successful, their policies could severely harm the environment and public welfare. The rise of populism and extremist ideologies reflects broader societal issues, not merely individual demands, added Teng.
Cui believes that the influence of the right-wing surge will continue to grow in the West as certain contradictions intensify. “These contradictions, such as unequal distribution, sluggish economic growth, relative impoverishment of the populace, and external turmoil, unfortunately, are hardly thoroughly resolved by current Western political systems,” Cui noted. “And these are precisely the root causes of the current predicament of the West.”