We are launching this report on Rebel Media and its influence online in a world where click-bait content, conspiracy theories and untruths become fact in the minds of some.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT HERE

This report, entitled ‘Rebel Media – a platform promoting division, white nationalism and fear mongering‘ highlights the following. Key points include the following:

• Ezra Levant has made a career out of using inflammatory language to gain audiences. He is the founder of Rebel Media and he has previously accused Gypsies of being “rapists, drug-dealers, thugs and murderers”.
• Former contributors on the payroll of Rebel Media have included Tommy Robinson, Lauren Southern, Katie Hopkins and Paul Joseph Watson. They are notorious for their anti-Muslim, anti-refugee and anti-migrant views as well as promoting views of a clash of cultures between the West and the East.
• Central to Rebel Media’s message is the platforming of far right ideology, many would identify as ‘counter-Jihadi’ and with slants that seek to portray a world view of ‘them and us’ – with Muslims in Europe being viewed as ‘them’.
• There are three heavily emphasized themes that make up Rebel Media’s output. These include, white nationalism, the rejection of ‘political correctness’ and its criticisms of Islam.
• It has 1.156 million subscribers on You Tube and 169,000 plus Facebook followers. It also has 161,000 Twitter followers meaning that it has a substantial online reach that can influence people across national boundaries.
• Groups like Rebel Media have successfully tapped into a wellspring of discontent and unease, ramping up fears that white people are facing a rapid decline managed by elitist institutions on the side of minorities and ‘homosexuals’ and by using immigration as a tool against white people.
• Rebel Media essentially believe that there is an Islamist infiltration through increased number of Muslim migrants.
• Ezra Levant, the founder of Rebel Media, was investigated for possible contempt of court charges for filming inside the Old Bailey in September 2018. The investigation was subsequently discontinued. He was filming Tommy Robinson during his trial for recording a short social media film outside Leeds Crown Court, which was hearing a grooming trial at the time.
• Two former ‘Rebel’ staffers have suggested that Rebel Media raises over $1,000,000 dollars in subscriptions per annum. It also received a $2 million payment from the anti-Muslim think tank, the Middle East Forum.
• It continues, like Infowars, to promote a view of white victimisation in a global world where liberal elites are conspiring against them.

The author of the report, Rabbil Sikdar said:

“Much more work needs to be done to counter the fake news around Muslims and the insinuation that building mosques or having halal-certified food amounts to a ‘Muslim takeover’. It alludes to a soft power approach by Islamists. People who buy into this false narrative are then likelier to protest against Islamic institutions like mosques and faith schools or call for fewer Muslims, or even support authoritarian measures against them. Rebel Media are essentially existing as a platform for the spread of fear and hate, and all their contributors work on this line. They have essentially globalised hate and we should be really concerned by that”.