From Telegram to Torre Pacheco: How 'Deport Them Now EU' and Russian Influence Are Spreading Far-Right Extremism Across Europe
A violent Telegram network is linked to mosque attacks in the UK and anti-migrant unrest in Torre Pacheco, Spain.
In March of this year, I published an article following a Hope Not Hate (HnH) report that exposed a violent far-right Telegram network spreading across Europe. The network, exhibiting signs of Russian influence, has now been linked to organizing anti-migrant riots in the Spanish city of Torre Pacheco.
The HnH investigation uncovered a Telegram group offering financial rewards to British users for defacing mosques with racist graffiti. It also circulated bomb-making manuals and weapons guides. One of the central channels in this network is linked to a website called deportthemnow.eu, which initially appears to be only mildly Islamophobic. However, a closer look at its Telegram presence reveals that its operators are extreme neo-Nazis.
The network includes a main channel and several country-specific offshoots for the UK, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, and Ireland. Among them, only the main, UK, and Spanish channels showed consistent activity — seemingly run by the same administrator.
The Spanish channel has been especially active. It shares AI-generated propaganda videos, including Holocaust-themed content targeting Muslims, promotes Quran burnings, and attempts to forge ties with local neo-Nazi groups. One video even depicted Muslims in WWII-style concentration camp uniforms being marched to gas chambers.
This transnational hate campaign began in the UK but has steadily expanded across Europe. Whether the "Deport Them Now" network is officially connected to Russian disinformation operations remains uncertain.