A schoolgirl cartoon made to stop youngsters falling for far-right extremism has backfired spectacularly. Amelia, a purple-haired goth character created with Home Office cash, was snapped up by the far-right and turned into a viral racist meme.
From Classroom Tool to Far-Right Viral Sensation
Originally, Amelia featured in a government-funded video game titled Pathways: Navigating the Internet and Extremism. The game was targeted at 13 to 18-year-olds in Yorkshire to deter them from far-right ideology. But far from quashing hate, far-right users have hijacked Amelia’s image, flooding social media with thousands of AI-generated memes.
These memes show Amelia waving the Union flag while spouting racist warnings about “militant Muslims” and “third-world migrants.” The disturbing trend kicked off on 9 January by an anonymous far-right account and quickly blew up, amassing over 1.4 million views and skyrocketing from 500 to 10,000 posts a day by 15 January. On one day alone, 11,137 Amelia posts appeared on X (formerly Twitter).
AI Tools Fuel Far-Right Creativity
The meme’s popularity has pushed users to use the platform’s Grok AI to create varied and eye-catching content. Think Manga-style Amelia, Wallace and Gromit parodies, and bizarre mash-ups with Father Ted and Harry Potter — all dripping with extremist messaging.
Even a cryptocurrency named after Amelia has surfaced, with followers trying to cash in on the meme’s explosive popularity. Elon Musk even retweeted one of the tokens on Wednesday, adding fuel to the fire.
Creators and Experts Sound Alarm
“What we’re seeing is the monetisation of hate,” said Matteo Bergamini, founder of Shout Out UK, the company behind the original game.
Bergamini revealed his team has been bombarded with hate mail and threats, many of which have been handed to the police. He stressed the game was always meant to be paired with classroom lessons, not used alone. Despite the hijack, schools have given mostly positive feedback.
Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan, analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, noted the meme’s astonishing spread among young far-right men globally.
Government Response & Prevent Programme
The Home Office stated its Prevent programme has steered nearly 6,000 people away from violent extremism. Projects like Pathways are designed to tackle local radicalisation risks independently of government interference.
