Party (BNP) with their anti-immigrant and anti-Islamic rhetoric by disguising their online campaigns as support for the Christianity, the Armed Forces, the monarchy and even animal cruelty. Controversy arose over the groups’ use of Lee Rigby’s photo – a soldier killed by Muslim extremists in 2013; Rigby’s family released a statement calling on far-right extremist groups not to exploit the soldier's death, but Britain First have continued to use his image on Facebook to promote their Islamophobia. In addition, they often use pictures of Union Jack and the Queen to depict themselves as a patriotic group, who are, as they say ‘dedicated to preserving our ancestral ethnic and cultural heritage, traditions, customs and values.’63 The most important point we can take away from these examples is how groups now have a platform (social media) to reach an audience of millions. Online groups can draw in followers by showing their support for something many people would also support, such as war veterans, or Buddhism in the case of Myanmar. Over time hate can begin to make its way into the posts and articles they share, which in turn are liked and shared by their followers, then liked and shared by the friends of these followers. Internet hate speech can mislead millions of innocent people, particularly social media’s largest users – young people, and has the potential, as Foxman and Wolf argue, to recruit the next generation of bigots, racists and homophobes.64 The Consequences of Online Hate Speech Now we have an understanding of how the internet facilitates the growth of hate groups or individuals inciting hatred, we can address the impact of hate speech and the damage it can do to society, particularly to minority groups. It is only after an understanding of how hate speech affects people and where the real danger lies that we can successfully approach methods of countering hate speech. To demonstrate the consequence of hate speech Waldron’s The Harm in Hate Speech asks us: what would a well ordered society look like? The example he uses to set the tone for the book is of a Muslim father, out for a walk with his family who are confronted with a sign telling 63 Britain First, available at: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialBritainFirst/ [November 2015]. 64 Foxman, A. and Wolf, C., (2013) Viral Hate: Containing Its Spread on the Internet, Palgrave Macmillan, p.32. - 32 -