The far right is on the rise across Europe as a new generation of young, web-based supporters embrace hardline nationalist and anti-immigrant groups

Research by the British think tank Demos for the first time examines attitudes among supporters of the far right online. Using advertisements on Facebook group pages, they persuaded more than 10,000 followers of 14 parties and street organizations in 11 countries to fill in detailed questionnaires. The study reveals a continent-wide spread of hardline nationalist sentiment among the young, mainly men. Deeply cynical about their own governments and the European Union, their generalized fear about the future is focused on cultural identity, with immigration – particularly the spread of Islamic influence – a concern. Data in the study was mainly collected in July and August 2011, before the worsening of the eurozone crisis. The report highlights the prevalence of anti-immigrant feeling, especially suspicion of Muslims. Parties touting anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim ideas have spread beyond established strongholds in France, Italy and Austria to the traditionally liberal Netherlands and Scandinavia, and now have significant parliamentary blocs in eight countries. Other nations have seen the rise of nationalist street movements like the English Defense League (EDL). But, experts say, polling booths and demos are only part of the picture: online, a new generation is following these organizations and swapping ideas, particularly through Facebook. For most parties the numbers online are significantly bigger than their formal membership. Youth, Demos found, was a common factor. Facebook's own advertising tool let Demos crunch data from almost 450,000 supporters of the 14 organizations. Almost two-thirds were aged under 30, against half of Facebook users overall. Three-quarters were male, and more likely than average to be unemployed. The separate anonymous surveys showed a repeated focus on immigration, specifically the threat from Muslim populations. This rose with younger supporters, contrary to most previous surveys which found greater opposition to immigration among older people. An open-ended question about what first drew respondents to the parties saw Islam and immigration listed far more often than economic worries. Many respondents pointed out that Islam is simply antithetical to a liberal democracy, a view espoused most vocally by Geert Wilders, the Dutch leader of the Party for Freedom, which only six years after it was founded is the third-biggest force in the country's parliament. While the poll shows economics playing a minimal role, analysts believe that the eurozone crisis is likely to boost recruitment to anti-EU populist parties. "Why do the Austrians, as well as the Germans or the Dutch, constantly have to pay for the bottomless pit of the southern European countries?" asked Heinz-Christian Strache, head of the Freedom Party of Austria, once led by the late Jörg Haider. Such parties have well over doubled their MPs around western Europe in a decade. What we have seen over the past few years is the emergence of parties in countries which were traditionally seen as immune to the trend – the Sweden Democrats, the True Finns, the resurgence of support for the radical right in the Netherlands and the EDL in Britain. The phenomenon was now far beyond a mere protest vote with many supporters expressing worries about national identity thus far largely ignored by other parties.