Truth Against Hate:
"Tommy Robinson: A Manufactured Rebel with Powerful Friends
Tommy Robinson is sold as the streetwise voice of ordinary Britain, a man supposedly standing up against the establishment. Yet his rise was anything but grassroots. The English Defence League (EDL), which he co-founded in 2009, did not spring from working-class frustration alone. Evidence suggests it was shaped and steered by bigger interests, making Robinson less a rebel and more a manufactured figurehead.
Nick Griffin, then leader of the British National Party (BNP), revealed in 2013 that his party had been approached back in 2007 by American neoconservatives with a lucrative offer. The deal was blunt. Drop antisemitism, stop attacking the banking system, and focus all energy on Muslims. Griffin claims he refused, and within two years Robinson’s EDL emerged pushing exactly that line. The implication is clear. When Griffin declined to redirect his politics, another vehicle was built that would
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Academics such as David Miller have documented how pro-Israel interests were involved in shaping the EDL, ensuring its hostility targeted Muslims rather than Jews. Roberta Moore, an Israeli-Jewish extremist, even managed part of the EDL’s business through Companies House, before breaking away to form the UK wing of the Jewish Defence League. Far from being a working-class uprising, the EDL was retooled into a pro-Israel, anti-Muslim street movement that collapsed in 2014 but left Robinson with a ready-made platform.
Today, the pattern continues. Robinson still plays the anti-Muslim card while cultivating the support of wealthy and influential figures abroad. Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s former strategist, has openly promoted Robinson as a hero of “the movement.” Elon Musk has provided him with an uncritical platform on X, giving Robinson visibility he could never buy for himself. These are not ordinary allies. They are billionaires and power brokers, using Robinson to push their own battles in the culture war.
The truth is stark. Robinson is not an anti-establishment warrior. He is a tool, fashioned by others, whose role is to redirect anger onto Muslims while keeping his powerful backers’ interests safe. His followers believe they are fighting the system, but in reality they are serving it. Robinson’s politics have not changed since the EDL. Only his sponsors have.
And here is the uncomfortable truth for anyone still chanting “Free Tommy.” If Robinson were really a danger to the establishment, the billionaires and media bosses would have crushed him years ago. Instead, they hand him a megaphone. You are not part of a rebellion. You are being used as foot soldiers in someone else’s game, fighting battles for men who would never fight for you."
