In February 2020, far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (‘Tommy Robinson’) travelled to Moscow and St Petersburg, giving interviews to Kremlin-backed broadcaster RT and meeting figures linked to Russian nationalist movements. Since then, questions have long swirled about his Russian connections and the sources of his funding amid mounting legal debts.

Byline Times can now reveal that years before that trip to Russia, Robinson was hired as a “goodwill ambassador” for an unregistered charity fronting a secretive Russian propaganda network that worked directly for President Vladimir Putin’s administration, and has ties to a sanctioned Russian state-linked oil giant.

The unregistered charity – the MMBF Trust – is part of a network centred around the London Post.

At first glance, the London Post resembles a local news website covering UK gambling regulations and London restaurant reviews. It has featured articles about Borough Market’s grocery ordering service, and good spots for ramen.

But sources who spoke to Byline Times described it as part of what intelligence analysts call a ‘black PR’ operation: coordinated disinformation campaigns designed to manipulate public opinion while concealing their true sponsors.

          • HamFistedVegan@lemmy.world
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            2 hours ago

            Again, sorry, what makes you say that?

            I have seen evidence that he met with Russian officials in 2020 including intelligence operatives.

            What ties him to Israel or the UAE?

            • geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml
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              2 minutes ago

              https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/us-cash-turned-tommy-robinson-into-the-poster-boy-of-uk-far-right

              Money from one man – US tech billionaire Robert Shillman – ties Robinson to a Who’s Who of far-right influencers with millions of followers online. Among them was US conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was murdered in Utah last week.

              Shillman, a former board member of Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces, hosts a pro-Israel podcast and also funds fellowships through the DHFC thinktank. Its founder, David Horowitz, was an anti-Muslim ideologue described as the “intellectual godfather” of the Trump administration in an obituary when he died in April this year. Another DHFC Shillman fellow was Raheem Kassam, a former Ukip adviser who set up the UK arm of Breitbart News, where Steve Bannon was chair. Bannon, who spoke at Robinson’s rally , once reportedly called him “the backbone of this country”.

  • tomiant@piefed.social
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    3 days ago

    Putin has been funding right-wing extremism all across Europe since he assumed power, heavily, and successfully. He wants us divided and fighting internally, and he’s had great success. Zero doubt in my mind he was behind Brexit.