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.
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.
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