Conspiracy theories and extreme misogyny are in danger of becoming mainstream in the UK, report warns

Conspiracy theories and extreme misogyny are in danger of becoming mainstream in the UK, a report from the Government’s former counter-extremism tsar warns.

Extremist narratives are becoming normalised among all age groups thanks to a ‘growing appetite for conspiracy theories’, the report adds.

A ‘pick ‘n’mix’ approach to believing in different conspiracy theories puts the UK at ‘chronic risk of democratic decline’ and threatens social cohesion, the report by Dame Sara Khan warns.

The research found that Britain is seeing the ‘normalisation of extreme misogyny’, with 45 per cent of young men saying they have a positive view of misogynistic influencer Andrew Tate.

People such as Mr Tate are fuelling the ‘growing normalisation of harmful attitudes toward women among young men, particularly within schools’, the report adds.

The research found that that every 29 minutes a post about rape is made on a popular ‘incel’ – a misogynistic online subculture with men who say they are involuntarily celibate – forum with over 17,000 members.

Meanwhile 34 per cent of people in a poll of 20,000 UK adults believe in a conspiracy theory which claims that a single group of people secretly controls world events, it found. This is increases to more than half among people who primarily get their news from social media.

Conspiracy theories are also becoming increasingly mainstream, with 30 per cent of 45 to 54-year-olds believe that the number of deaths from coronavirus was being deliberately reduced or hidden by the authorities.

Dame Sara, who was previously the commissioner for countering extremism and advised the government on social cohesion from 2021 to 2024, warned this is contributing to a ‘gradual democratic decline and extremism being mainstreamed in society’.

The research found that this is having a harmful effect on social cohesion and trust in government, with the UK having the highest level of polarisation between the political left and right between 2017 and 2022 outside of the United States.

Some 45 per cent of people now say they never trust the government to put the nation’s interests first, regardless of which political party is in power, while only 41 per cent of people believe they can trust the other people living in their neighbourhood.

Dame Sara said: ‘This poses a long-term and chronic threat to the wellbeing and functioning of our democracy and requires a new and strategic approach.

‘Relevant existing policies including the Prevent programme, counter-extremism, and social integration, have failed to prevent long-term extremism concerns or address what are now chronic trends.

‘This is untenable. Nothing short of a radical approach is now needed in government policy to effectively address these emerging challenges.’

The report, from think tank Crest Insights and Dame Sara, advises the Government to reform the Prevent counter-terror programme so that its sole focus is on preventing people from being radicalised or de-radicalising those that are at risk.

It adds that the Government should also develop a long-term strategy to strengthen democratic resilience and social cohesion in the UK, with a new Cabinet Office unit set up to deliver this.

Dame Sara added: ‘Global trends suggest economic pressures, global migration, and institutional distrust are likely to persist, while misinformation will continue to deepen societal divides. Both domestic and foreign actors can exploit these tensions to undermine social cohesion and democratic stability.’