Patriot Blue and other far right groups are ambushing politicians because they want publicity
Updated
Would you ever share a Facebook video calling your local MP, who just happens to be Muslim, a terrorist?
How about liking a post in defence of calling him a monkey?
From violent clashes to mock beheadings, Australia's far right has decided to capitalise on the power of Facebook to reach new and untapped audiences.
And their publicity-seeking stunts, which include ambushing NSW Labor Senator Sam Dastyari in a Melbourne pub and calling him a terrorist, seem to be working.
But just who exactly are these people and why are they seeking the spotlight?
What is the far right?
You'll often hear terms like left-wing or right-wing politics. These terms refer to the political spectrum which scientists used to measure political views.
The spectrum which most people are familiar with has two axes, left to right and authoritarian to libertarian.
The far right is a term which describes movements on the far right of the political spectrum.
What do they believe in?
"The extreme far right are those that want to take action against a number of issues, such as multiculturalism, immigration … and religion as well," said Dr Clarke Jones from the Australian National University.
According to Dr Jones, these people are on the fringes of society and feel like they're under threat from some sections of society.
"They feel, if you listen to some of Pauline Hanson's rhetoric, that we're being invaded by Muslims or previously invaded by Asians," he said.
"So there's a threat that living in Australia, that they will take people's jobs, that in this case Muslims are the cause of terrorism, or the religion is the cause of terrorism.
"And we know obviously that's not the case."
Dr Jones said members of the far right often felt insecure and under the greatest threat.
"Some of them probably wouldn't like me to say that," he said. "For them it's about taking action."
"People have their right to interpretation but I think we've got to be careful when that interpretation becomes potentially violent and it starts to hurt others."
What is Patriot Blue?
The group that ambushed Senator Dastyari is called Patriot Blue, which is also the name of the fictional far right group in the upcoming Romper Stomper remake on Stan.
Stan and Roadshow Productions have announced they are taking legal action against the group and have stressed they have no association with it.
"The group involved have misappropriated the name of the fictional group from the series," a spokesman said.
"Stan and Roadshow Productions today instructed law firm Gilbert & Tobin to take appropriate legal action in relation to the infringement of the Patriot Blue trademark, and use of the Stan name on Facebook."
One of the men who approached Senator Dastyari is Neil Erikson, who was part of a trio found guilty of inciting serious contempt with a mock beheading in Bendigo in 2015.
He was charged under Victoria's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act after the group filmed the beheading of a mannequin with a toy sword.
At that time he was part of the nationalist group United Patriots Front, but he now says he represents Patriot Blue.
Erikson said approaching Senator Dastyari and calling him a "monkey" and a "terrorist" was tit-for-tat.
"He called me a redneck and a racist," Erikson said.
"He had no evidence to say I was a redneck. So I've got no evidence to say he's a terrorist. So I thought I'd give it back to him that way."
He denied that calling the senator a "monkey" was racist.
"I can understand in Adam Goodes' case it's racist because it's the colour of his skin, but does it come down to everyone does it when you call someone a monkey? Because he's got paler skin than me," he said.
Why are they seeking the spotlight on social media?
Dr Andre Oboler, a cybersecurity expert at La Trobe University and chief executive of the Online Hate Prevention Institute, said this was a "stage-managed stunt".
"Part of what happens with these online messages is it sends the signal through the community to say hey, this is OK," he said.
According to Dr Oboler, Mr Erikson is trying to build a personality cult around himself.
"This is really the same person who's done these same things before. It isn't a growth of far right activity," he said.
"This isn't a groundswell, this isn't an incident randomly occurring in the community. This is a known individual who's done this sort of thing before, who's been convicted by the courts, who has gone out and tried to get media attention, and he's succeeded."
Dr Oboler said groups like Patriot Blue were building an online presence and brand to create supporters.
"Some of those people are hardcore racists. Many more are people who have just been sucked into it. They've seen something that they vaguely agree with, within the arguments," he said.
"They've bought into perhaps a racist argument that they can blame their problems on some segment of society.
"We need to be pushing that message out there saying 'no, this is not acceptable' and as individuals in the community, people need to stand up and say something."
Topics: government-and-politics, melbourne-3000, vic
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