Reading ‘Lord Of The Rings’ And ‘1984’ Could Lead To…

Right-Wing Extremism, Gov’t Report Warns…

Feb. 2023. Author Douglas Murray published a scathing review of the British government’s counter-terrorism Prevent program, which has apparently reported that authors like George Orwell, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis can radicalize readers.

In his column, Murray described how Britain’s Prevent program was founded to support counter-terrorism efforts, but has gradually swayed into a focus on only extremists from Islam and “far-right” ideological mindsets. He evidenced this claim by citing that Prevent was consulted by activist groups such as Hope not Hate, which he argues believes that people who voted for Brexit and are against illegal immigrants are far-right.

He further noted that Prevents’ “Research Information and Communications Unit” (RICU) has previously listed historical texts as red flags. Essentially, if someone is reading “1984,” or works by Lewis, Tolkien, Aldous Huxley, or Joseph Conrad, they should be suspected of being a far-right extremist terrorist. Murray’s own book was on the list…. Read more

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