Visual politics and graphic imagery give the hard right an unfair advantage over liberal politicians
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jason-osamede-okundaye. "The right has created a false reality – fuelled by toxic images delivered straight to your phone | Jason Okundaye | The Guardian." June 13, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
The author argues that right-wing politicians have an unfair advantage because they can use shocking videos and images from social media to make people angry and scared, while left-wing politicians trying to respond with facts and statistics can't compete with the emotional power of disturbing pictures.
Conclusion
The hard right has gained a structural political advantage by exploiting graphic, violent imagery shared on social media to create a false narrative about UK decline, while liberal politicians struggle to counter visual politics with facts and context
Premises
- Social media now regularly feeds people graphic images and videos of violent crimes that were once confined to courtrooms or investigations
- Far-right politicians and activists deliberately circulate these shocking images to support narratives about ethnic violence and national decline
- Real violent incidents, when shared online, become indistinguishable from and reinforce pre-existing fake content and conspiracy theories
- A single powerful image of violence can overwhelm statistical evidence showing crime is actually decreasing
- Liberal politicians face a structural disadvantage because they must explain complex context while the hard right can simply point to images and tell simple stories
- Labour's fact-based responses about falling migration and calls for calm cannot match the visceral impact of graphic imagery on voters
Assumptions
- Visual content has more political impact than statistical data or reasoned argument
- People make political decisions based more on emotional responses to images than on factual analysis
- The circulation of graphic violent imagery is primarily motivated by political rather than informational purposes
- There is a meaningful distinction between 'real' and 'false' political narratives that can be objectively determined