How the US seeks to influence UK law under the guise of free speech

A Russian linked anti-abortion & anti-LGBT+ network, Musk, Thiel & FSU

A string of legal challenges making headlines in the UK have links to the US culture wars.

JD Vance has taken a particular interest in anti-abortion protestors being arrested for breaching protection orders outside abortion clinics, in his continuing claims that free speech is under assault in the UK, while ignoring the actions of his own government.

The latest examples is the conviction of Livia Tossici-Bolt. Free Speech warriors are saying that she was convicted for simply holding up a sign, however the reality is that she breached a buffer zone.

It's worth noting that Tossici-Bolt has been financially backed by ADF.

ADF and the US/Russian network

ADF recieves considerable funding from the DeVos family, one of the billionaire backers of the shadowy Council for National Policy, and also recieves funding from the dark money ATMs the Donors Trust and Donors Trust Foundation.

This is a very well funded organisation embedded within the infrastructure of the US radical right. SPLC which monitors extremism describes ADF as a hate group.

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/servant-foundation-he-gets-us-jesus-gen-z-alliance-defending-freedom/

For years ADF have sought to exert influence in the UK and Europe, importing its inflammatory brand of culture war tactics as part of a wider anti-reproductive and sexuality rights network with direct links to the Kremlin.

The European Union's Tip of the Iceberg report (TOTI) traced over $700,000,000 of funding spent on this network between 2009-2018. Spending over $23,000,000 over this period ADF was is the top ten organisations in this network.

Tossici-Bolt's actions of actively breaking the law, media outrage farming, and the subsequent appeals that will follow is one of the tactics outlined in the TOTI report.

Below is another example, note ADF’s ligitation role.

The results of legal action, appeals, petitions etc are in many ways less important than the action itself as whatever the result is, it will be used to reinforce a narrative that seeks to undermine public trust in services and institutions such as the police and the legal syste. Losing is portrayed as evidence of any unjust system, while wins are justification for their sense of victimhood.

These actions generate considerable media attention at each stage of the legal process. In the UK’s predominantly right wing media landscape this media attention is mainly supportive, omitting details about the organisations involved such as ADF which would provide important context. Instead these stories are often reported with the narrative of a plucky member of the public being unfairly punished by an unjust system. Some of the journalists and commentators who without fail will back what has become the MAGA narrative are more activists than journalists as they have positions at networked culture war outfits.

Citizen Go

Another story that's received considerable media attention is regarding four Darlington nurses’ row over a transgender colleague using the women's changing room. At the time of writing, the tribunal is close to concluding, however the judge has described the case as “complex”.

The case is being backed by UK based Christian Concern and CitizenGo which was founded in Madrid.

Last year the four nurses met with Labour Health Secretary Wes Streeting who has been sympathetic towards the gender critical movement.

It should be noted that 48,000 signitures is just 5,000 more than Christian Concern's mailing list.

CitizenGo is another organisation that features heavily in the TOTI report, the board include key individuals named in the report including Alexey Komov who has ties to Putin.

The TOTI report even provided a case study explaining CitizenGo's role as a cog in a Russian laundromat operating through Azerbaijan to influence European politics.

Once again the media coverage of the Darlington nurses has largely ignored detailing the background of Christian Concern and CitizenGo.

Musk & Thiel

The FSU is involved in many of the culture war stories that gain substantial media coverage. The FSU appears to have been founded off the back of talks with Musk's l fellow billionaire tech bro Peter Thiel.

The FSU is also heavily entertwined with the National Conservatism movement.

These networks are international in nature, have plenty of media and politicial links, and can launch legal campaigns and astroturf groups straight into the headlines while genuine grassroots groups are ignored.

The same is happening in many other countries with more success in some than others. There is an almost off the shelf radical right franchise system in operation using the same tactics to push the same narratives, consider the covid disinformation ecosystem, interconnected groups springing up with the same claims around lockdowns, masks, PCR testing, blaming covid deaths on healthcare workers and then the adoption of peddling fake cures and anti-vax narratives.

It's the same play book as climate change denial, anti-LGBT+, anti-abortion, and opposition to anti-racism initiatives. The reason we are seeing the same narratives developing around the world is because its the same networks in operation across borders.

https://counterdisinformationproject.substack.com/p/tip-of-the-iceberg-the-dark-money

https://counterdisinformationproject.substack.com/p/rebranding-eugenics

https://www.bylinesupplement.com/p/musks-doge-is-inspired-by-pro-kremlin

https://bylinetimes.com/2023/03/10/mps-links-to-christian-nationalism-revealed/

https://bylinetimes.com/2023/04/05/suella-braverman-to-address-radical-national-conservatism-event-with-ties-to-us-right/

https://bylinetimes.com/2025/03/12/free-speech-union-toby-young-elon-musk/

https://bylinetimes.com/2024/04/09/the-orbanisation-of-british-politics-farage-and-braverman-headline-with-hungarian-prime-minister-at-national-conservatism-conference/

https://bylinetimes.com/2024/05/28/suella-braverman-joins-steve-bannon-as-headline-speaker-at-us-national-conservatism-conference/

https://bylinetimes.com/2024/04/11/the-free-speech-unions-key-role-in-developing-government-legislation/

https://bylinetimes.com/2024/03/11/the-european-congress-of-families-and-the-international-organization-for-the-family/

https://bylinetimes.com/2020/12/08/alt-right-pseudoscience-part-2-the-free-speech-union-and-scientific-racism/

https://bylinetimes.com/2020/12/04/alt-right-pseudoscience-part-1-lockdown-sceptics/

https://bylinetimes.com/2021/12/23/cambridge-faculty-of-divinity-ignores-demands-for-inquiry-into-peter-thiels-far-right-influence/