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]
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]
Far-right links
The paper has printed articles by
Holocaust denier John Hamer and recommended books by
white supremacistEustace 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 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]