{"id":988,"date":"2026-06-01T19:08:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T19:08:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=988"},"modified":"2026-06-01T19:08:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T19:08:47","slug":"sxsw-london-takes-on-fascism-were-in-a-cultural-war-and-we-need-to-win-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=988","title":{"rendered":"SXSW London Takes on Fascism: \u201cWe\u2019re in a Cultural War and We Need to Win It\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tThe rise of fascism was on the agenda at SXSW London on Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\n\tAt a session titled, \u201cThe Authoritarian Creep: How Far Right Rhetoric Impacts Culture,\u201d Deborah Frances-White, a British writer and podcaster best known for the podcast The Guilty Feminist<\/em>, spoke with a group of expert panelists on Donald Trump, Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the rising tide of the far right.<\/p>\n

Read more Taylor Swift Reuniting With Jack Antonoff For Country Track on \u2018Toy Story 5\u2019 Soundtrack<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tShe was joined by Josie Fernandez-Marelli, CEO and co-founder of refugee NGO Choose Love; Agn\u00e8s Callamard, general secretary at Amnesty International; and Misan Harriman, a photographer and activist who earned an Oscar nomination in 2024 for his directorial debut, a live-action short called The After<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI do think we really have to take the seriousness of this moment to heart,\u201d began Fernandez-Marelli. When asked on her opinion as to how things have gotten to this point \u2014\u00a0as the U.S. tips further into authoritarianism and the U.K. heads in a similar direction \u2014\u00a0she said: \u201cEconomic insecurity, collapse of trust in institutions, social media that rewards outrage over nuance, and I think democratic society is becoming complacent, you know? Growing up, I know I took for granted the rights that I have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Callamard: \u201cThe first thing we need to realize is that the rise of authoritarianism is global. It is not something that is happening in a given region or in a given country; it is a global phenomenon, according to organizations that have monitored the health of so-called democracy for several decades.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tShe went on to name those who she believes are proponents of this political and human rights crisis, saying that political figures are weaponizing disinformation; freedom of expression is under attack; solidarity and dissent are being criminalized; and particular communities are being used as scapegoats. \u201cThe world turned fear and division into tools of governance. That\u2019s what authoritarianism is about, and yes, of course, Donald Trump accelerated that process. This genocide in Gaza that\u2019s being broadcast around the world,\u201d she said, prompting applause from the SXSW audience. \u201c[It has] created a predatory world order which mocks racial justice, which mocks gender justice, which declares cyber justice a scam, which treats civil society as an enemy, which rejects international solidarity \u2026 They are the seeds that we need to work against.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHarriman has recently been the subject of news headlines in the U.K. after an alleged smear campaign against him in his role as the chair of the Southbank Centre. The country\u2019s press regulator, IPSO, is looking into complaints after four right-leaning publications, including The Times <\/em>and The Telegraph<\/em>, called for his sacking over accusations of antisemitism.<\/p>\n

\n\tFrances-White asked him how he is doing. \u201cThank you for asking,\u201d he replied. \u201cThe first thing I\u2019ll say is I\u2019m a child of empire. I was born in Nigeria, a country that was occupied \u2014\u00a0even though they like to use the word \u2018protectorate\u2019 or \u2018colony\u2019 \u2014\u00a0it was occupied, and to talk about authoritarianism in this room as a Black man, I have to say that we have to link it to ethno-supremacy. When I say ethno-supremacy, I think about my experiences over the last few weeks and people asking me how I\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe invoked the harrowing deaths of George Stinney and Emmett Till before turning to the audience directly. \u201cI say all of this because when you ask how I am, I think about that legacy and about how we need to use the privilege to be in this room, with all our different lived experiences. I see one Black man there, an Arab man there,\u201d he said. \u201cOur stories matter, our children matter, and those of you, whether it\u2019s an unconscious bias or the privilege of what you were born into, need to look and see the humanity in all of our eyes, so we can swim towards the horizon.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tThe conversation moved to the criminalization and ostracization of refugees and asylum seekers around the world, particularly in the U.K. with the rise of far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who orchestrates marches and riots fueled by racist rhetoric. \u201cPeople are terrified, a lot of our partners are having to increase the amount of funding that they\u2019re spending on mental health support,\u201d said Fernandez-Marelli. \u201cAttacks are happening, the consequences of which there\u2019s too many to list.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCallamard chimed in to say that the reach of unregulated social media also isn\u2019t helping. \u201cPlatforms and big tech are being unregulated to spread deep divides,\u201d she said. \u201cWe really need to fight against the algorithm that is being used \u2026 We are involved in a number of court cases, including in Kenya, around ethnic-based crimes that [were] led through social media.\u201d She added: \u201cWe\u2019re in the midst of the cultural war, and we need to win it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHarriman concurred: \u201cThe algorithm, we are told, feeds off rage and division,\u201d he said, explaining that he often quotes 13th-century mystic Rumi before expressing himself online: \u201c\u2018Raise your words, not your voice, for it is rain that grows flowers.\u2019 Many of us are being forced to believe that we should stay in echo chambers of confirmation bias online.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe even quoted season two of Andor<\/em>, in which Mon Mothma (Genevieve O\u2019Reilly) discusses the notion that truth is dying: \u201cWhen truth leaves us, when we let it slip away, when it is ripped from our hands, we become vulnerable to the appetite of whatever monster screams the loudest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOn what the trio would do if they had a magic wand, there was firm agreement between all of them \u2014\u00a0a matriarchy, which had the room of attendees erupting into raucous applause. \u201cWe have to fight back,\u201d added Callamard. \u201cOur history is full of people who have resisted times immemorial, people who\u2019ve come together to push back and to fight back against colonialism [or people]who fought for civil rights in the United States. \u2026 If we organize, we get courageous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHarriman said he has one piece of advice for the crowd. \u201cWhoever you\u2019ve been told to be afraid of, lean into getting to know that community. If you\u2019ve been told to be afraid of the Muslim community, lean in, see that they have more in common with you [than you thought]. If you\u2019ve been told to fear or hate the Jewish community, lean in, listen to their stories, look into their eyes. If you\u2019ve been told to be afraid of the Black man and woman [\u2026] listen to their stories and engage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Kendall Ostrow Joins CAA Creators (Exclusive)<\/a><\/p>\n

\nSXSW London 2026 runs June 1-6.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The rise of fascism was on the agenda at SXSW London on Monday afternoon, with Josie Fernandez-Marelli, Agn\u00e8s Callamard and Misan Harriman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2,716,767,98],"class_list":["post-988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-international","tag-sxsw-london","tag-sxsw-london-2026","tag-united-kingdom"],"yoast_head":"\nSXSW London Takes on Fascism: \u201cWe\u2019re in a Cultural War and We Need to Win It\u201d - US Property Moves<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=988\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SXSW London Takes on Fascism: \u201cWe\u2019re in a Cultural War and We Need to Win It\u201d - 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