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The Light (newspaper)

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The Light
Founded27 September 2020; 4 years ago (2020-09-27)
LanguageEnglish
Websitethelightpaper.co.uk
Free online archivesYes
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The Light is a self-published, monthly British far-right and conspiracy theory newspaper founded by Darren Nesbitt (frequently under the pseudonym Darren Smith) on 27 September 2020,[1] which claims the COVID-19 pandemic was a hoax. The paper has a sister publication, named The Irish Light, which was launched in Ireland by Gemma O'Doherty and John Waters.[2]

The paper has been criticised for spreading COVID-19 misinformation, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, Holocaust denial and death threats.[12][13] It regularly prints articles written by conspiracy theorist Vernon Coleman,[1] and according to a review from Harvard Kennedy School "includes content that is aimed at prompting participation and activism amongst adherents of conspiracy theories, rather than simply presenting information".[10] The paper has called for executions of journalists, politicians and doctors, leading it to being described as containing 'extremist propaganda'.[14][15][16]

Although the company behind the paper was dissolved on 15 February 2021,[17] the BBC reported in June 2023 that at least 100,000 copies of The Light were being printed each month and that the publication had more than 18,000 followers on the social media site Telegram.[18][19]

Claims

The print publication regularly makes conspiratorial claims surrounding Bill Gates and world leaders, promotes climate change denial and claims vaccines are weaponized mind control devices.[1][20]

It has called for modern-day Nuremberg trials for journalists, politicians and doctors and repeatedly referenced conspiracy theories concerning Agenda 21 and the Great Reset. It regularly criticised the COVID-19 restrictions in the United Kingdom by comparing vaccination efforts to Nazi extermination camps.[1][11][21] The paper was also found to have spread false claims concerning vaccines, COVID-19 and COVID-19 death figures.[22][23][24][25]

In September 2022, The Light shared an article written by far-right conspiracy theorist Paul Joseph Watson claiming that Lyudmyla Denisova, the former Ombudsman for Human Rights in Ukraine, had admitted to lying about the Russian military committing rape crimes in Ukraine. The disinformation analysis group Logically found that Denisova had only accepted her use of inappropriate language in describing the rape crimes, but had not admitted to lying about said crimes.[26]

In November 2022, The Irish Light ran a headline with the phrase 'Died Suddenly' connected to marketing efforts around the release of an independent anti-vaccine film of the same name. In this issue, the paper used the images of 42 deceased individuals, claiming they had died due to being vaccinated. Upon investigation, none of the deaths were found to be due to vaccines but were caused by drowning, long-term illness, car accidents, meningitis and other events. The misuse of the names and images of the deceased individuals being used to promote anti-vaccine conspiracy theories caused severe distress among family members of the bereaved and an increase in online abuse.[27][28][29][30]

The paper has printed articles by Holocaust denier John Hamer and recommended books by white supremacist Eustace Mullins,[11] and has featured an article by pseudonymous blogger Lasha Darkmoon which said that people should be able to question the Holocaust.[11][18] It also defended radio host Graham Hart, who was sentenced to 32 months imprisonment after making anti-semitic remarks on his radio show in which he characterized Jewish people as "filth" and "rats" who "deserve to be wiped out".[18][31][32] The paper also regularly references the far-right Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory, which has similar roots in antisemitism, and has promoted the neo-Nazi propaganda film Europa: The Last Battle on its Telegram channel.[11]

The paper has also been criticised by the anti-racist group Hope not Hate for its support of the far-right by interviewing anti-Islam party politician Anne Marie Waters, printing articles co-authored by the English Democrats chair Robin Tilbrook and Heritage Party leader David Kurten, and promoting material by Mark Collett, the leader of the fascist group Patriotic Alternative.[11] According to its founder, he is in communication with the editor of the German far-right conspiracy theory publication Demokratischer Widerstand (Democratic Resistance), which has stated that it is a "partner" newspaper of The Light. Demokratischer Widerstand has been linked to the Reichsbürger movement, the group behind the 2022 failed coup attempt in Germany.[18]

Distribution and criticism

The paper is purchased via private Facebook groups and Twitter contacts and then distributed by volunteers who are instructed to airdrop copies through letterboxes or abandon the paper in public spaces.[33][34][35][36][37]

Local leaders in towns across the country have accused the publication of "inflaming division and harassment with false and misleading claims about vaccines, the financial system and climate change".[18] Its distributors have also been criticised for deliberately targeting councillors, teenagers and children.[47][48][49][50]

After copies of the paper were distributed in Stroud, residents protested against the paper, stating: "...we are alarmed by The Light's use of the pandemic to push support for antisemitism, Holocaust denial and racist hate speech - as well as for denial of climate change, NHS-bashing, and other reactionary views."[4][7]

Siobhan Baillie, the MP for Stroud, called anti-vaccine misinformation "dangerous, damaging and disrespectful" and later raised concerns in Parliament, stating: "Will the secretary of state assist me in to reassure Stroud about the vaccines and encourage people not to share Covid information from unofficial sources to stop this dangerous, damaging and disrespectful behaviour."[51][52]

Simon Fell, the MP for Barrow and Furness, said of the paper: "This is a 'paper' set up by a conspiracy theorist who makes a pretty penny from selling t-shirts about global conspiracies. The only advice I can give people is to wash their hands after popping it in the recycling bin. Last time I looked there was no shortage of toilet roll anymore and people had stopped stockpiling. Consequently I can't imagine the demand for this will be high."[53][54]

Neil O'Brien, MP for Harborough has also criticised the paper.[55] After being distributed in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria's Director of Public Health levied a similar criticism against its contents.[56][53]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Waterson, Jim (27 November 2020). "How an anti-lockdown 'truthpaper' bypasses online factcheckers". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  2. ^ Bracken, Ali (1 August 2021). "Anti-vaccine paper pushes 'conspiracy propaganda'". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 26 April 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  3. ^ Gourlay, Kris (1 March 2022). "Furious Edinburgh M&S shopper spots 'anti-vax' newspaper displayed in store". Edinburgh Live. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  4. ^ a b Felton, James (29 January 2022). "Stroud residents challenge The Light's 'support for Holocaust Denial'". Stroud News & Journal. Archived from the original on 3 May 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  5. ^ Pritchett, Mark (29 January 2021). "Anti-vaccine paper 'pedals conspiracy theory madness'". Wellington Weekly News. Archived from the original on 16 June 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Covid-19 leaflets: How pandemic disinformation went offline". BBC News. 20 March 2021. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  7. ^ a b Felton, James (30 September 2022). "Protest against controversial newspaper in Stroud". Stroud News & Journal. Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  8. ^ Derrick, Maya (11 January 2023). "Fury as anti-vax conspiracy newspaper delivered to Norwich homes". Norwich Evening News. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  9. ^ Davies, Philippa (24 January 2023). "Conspiracy 'newspaper' being distributed around Sidmouth". Sidmouth Herald. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  10. ^ a b Dacombe, Rod; Souter, Nicole; Westerlund, Lumi (17 September 2021). "Research note: Understanding offline Covid-19 conspiracy theories: A content analysis of The Light "truthpaper"". Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review. doi:10.37016/mr-2020-80. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Lawrence, David (30 June 2022). "Turning Off "The Light": the conspiracist newspaper promoting the far right". Hope Not Hate. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  12. ^ [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
  13. ^ Farber, Alex (5 August 2023). "Antivax newspaper has links to far-right groups". The Times. Archived from the original on 17 June 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Sainsbury's apologises after conspiracy newspapers found in stores". BBC News. 13 July 2023. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  15. ^ Spring, Marianna (6 August 2023). "The Irish Light: Woman abused by paper which falsely said vaccine killed her son". BBC News. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  16. ^ Bartholomew, Jem. "A conspiracy newspaper tries to find an audience in Britain". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  17. ^ Felton, James (22 February 2021). "Company behind 'controversial newspaper' The Light dissolves". Stroud News and Journal. Archived from the original on 3 May 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  18. ^ a b c d e Spring, Marianna (11 June 2023). "The Light: Inside The UK's Conspiracy Theory Newspaper That Shares Violence And Hate". BBC News. Archived from the original on 23 July 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  19. ^ Farber, Alex (2 July 2023). "Antivax newspaper claims to print 150,000 copies a month". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 2 July 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  20. ^ Burgess, Sanya (12 November 2021). "From COVID to climate change: How green conspiracies about celebrities and lockdowns are spreading". Sky News. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  21. ^ Waveney, Harry (8 August 2021). "Inside The Anti-Lockdown Movement: How America's Paranoid Conspiracy Culture Arrived In Wales". voice.wales. Archived from the original on 23 December 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  22. ^ Rahman, Grace (20 July 2021). "Free paper repeats falsehoods on deaths following vaccination". Full Fact. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  23. ^ a b Perrin, Isabella (14 July 2021). "Council slams newspaper for spreading anti-Covid messages around Bracknell". Bracknell News. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  24. ^ Bracken, Ali (1 August 2021). "Anti-vaccine paper pushes 'conspiracy propaganda'". Independent. Archived from the original on 26 April 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  25. ^ "Pfizer documents do not reveal dangers of Covid-19 vaccine". Fact Check. 16 May 2022. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  26. ^ Kulkarni, Ankita (26 September 2022). "False: Former Ukrainian Human Rights Chief Lyudmila Denisova admitted to lying about the Russian military committing rape crimes in Ukraine". Logically. Archived from the original on 1 January 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  27. ^ LaCapria, Kim (23 November 2022). "'Died Suddenly' and the 'Irish Light'". TruthOrFiction.com. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  28. ^ Wong, Adrian (20 December 2022). "Did Leaked Data Show Pfizer Vaccine Would Kill?!". Tech ARP. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  29. ^ Schraer, Rachel & Wendling, Mike (3 May 2023). "Is this anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist the next Alex Jones?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  30. ^ Spring, Marianna (6 August 2023). "The Irish Light: Woman abused by paper which falsely said vaccine killed her son". BBC News. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  31. ^ "Why are people in Stroud handing out a paper that defends Holocaust denial and antisemitism?". Community Solidarity Stroud District. 17 May 2022. Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  32. ^ "The Light". Amplify Stroud. 19 January 2022. Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  33. ^ Gregory, Mike (4 April 2023). "Mike Gregory has seen 'The Light'". North West Bylines. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  34. ^ Perrin, Isabella (14 June 2023). "Anti-lockdown newspapers delivered around Bracknell about how Covid-19 is 'a hoax'". Bracknell News. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  35. ^ Davies, Philippa (14 June 2023). "'Dangerous' conspiracy newspaper still circulating in Sidmouth". Sidmouth Herald. Archived from the original on 6 August 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  36. ^ Derrick, Maya (22 July 2023). "Fury as anti-vax conspiracy newspaper delivered to Norwich homes". Norwich Evening News. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  37. ^ Felton, James (22 July 2023). "Stroud MP: "The Light seems to sow division and create fear"". Stroud News and Journal. Archived from the original on 5 August 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  38. ^ Buckley, Christine (3 July 2021). "Conspiracy theory newspaper found circulating in Cambs". CambridgeshireLive. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  39. ^ Mills, Frankie (18 January 2021). "Anger as 'anti-vax' propaganda posted in Devon". DevonLive. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  40. ^ Sirrell, Ollie (23 January 2022). "The Light anti coronavirus vaccine newspaper posted around Slough". Slough & South Bucks Observer. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  41. ^ Dacombe, Rod (24 November 2021). "Conspiracy theories about the pandemic are spreading offline as well as through social media". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  42. ^ Mills, Kelly-Ann & Tobin, Olivia (6 May 2021). "Covid 'rag' being posted through doors sparks fury with fake news about vaccines". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  43. ^ Ladds, Tom (30 August 2021). "Totnes Mayor hits out at 'truth' paper". Dartmouth Chronicle. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  44. ^ Burke, Darren (29 September 2021). "Anti-vaccine 'truthpaper' which says Covid is hoax given out on streets of Doncaster". Doncaster Free Press. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  45. ^ Burke, Darren (7 October 2021). "Anti-vaxx, Covid-denying 'truthpaper' slammed for targeting teenagers in Doncaster". Doncaster Free Press. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  46. ^ Burke, Darren (1 February 2022). "Fresh fury as Covid conspiracy paper on counters at Doncaster newsagents". Doncaster Free Press. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  47. ^ [38][39][23][40][41][42][43][44][45][46]
  48. ^ "'We are being targeted': Far-right magazine left on doorsteps of councillors". Lynn News. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  49. ^ Linham, Laura (6 December 2023). "Glastonbury residents shining a light on the publication spreading disinformation in their town". Glastonbury Nub News. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  50. ^ McDermott, Stephen (17 September 2023). "Holocaust group writes to Helen McEntee about 'anti-Semitic' newspaper edited by Gemma O'Doherty". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  51. ^ Wilson, Kate (30 December 2020). "Stoud MP hits out at anti-vaxxers as county moves into Tier 4". GloucestershireLive. Archived from the original on 9 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  52. ^ Young, Bradley (11 January 2021). "Anti-vaxxer defends Stroud stall after MP slams claims as 'utter rubbish'". Stroud News and Journal. Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  53. ^ a b Taylor, Dan (7 July 2022). "'Conspiracy theory' newspaper posted through letterboxes". The Mail. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  54. ^ Taylor, Dan (29 April 2021). "'Demand won't be high' - Furness MP blasts anti-lockdown newspaper". The Mail. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  55. ^ Richardson, Hannah (4 December 2021). "Conspiracy theory 'newspaper' distributed in Leicestershire". LeicestershireLive. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  56. ^ Taylor, Dan (25 November 2022). "'Obvious hoax' - Newspaper posted to Barrow homes branded 'nonsense'". The Mail. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
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