An international network of "race science" activists seeking to influence public debate with discredited ideas on race and eugenics has been operating with secret funding from a multimillionaire US tech entrepreneur.
Undercover filming has revealed the existence of the organisation, formed two years ago as the Human Diversity Foundation. Its members have used podcasts, videos, an online magazine and research papers to seed ideology about the supposed genetic superiority of certain ethnic groups.
The anti-racism campaign Hope Not Hate began investigating after meeting the group's English organiser, a former teacher, at a far-right conference.
Undercover footage was shared with the Guardian, which conducted further research alongside Hope Not Hate and reporting partners in Germany.
HDF received more than $1m from Andrew Conru, a Seattle businessman who made his fortune from dating websites, the recordings reveal. After being approached by the Guardian, Conru pulled his support, saying the group appeared to have deviated from its original mission of "non-partisan academic research".
While it remains a fringe outfit, HDF is part of a movement to rehabilitate so-called race science as a topic of open debate. Labelled scientific racism by mainstream academics, it seeks to prove biological differences between races such as higher average IQ or a tendency to commit crime.
Dr Rebecca Sear, the director of the Centre for Culture and Evolution at Brunel University, described it as a "dangerous ideology" with real-world consequences. "Scientific racism has been used to argue against any policies that attempt to reduce inequalities between racial groups," she said. It was also deployed to "argue for more restrictive immigration policies".
This story is from the October 25, 2024 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 25, 2024 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Power play The Solar Mamas who are lighting up Zanzibar
In a dimly lit corridor of a mudwalled house nestled among coconut trees, Sharifa Hussein stripped red and black cables, a screwdriver voltage tester balanced between her lips and rolls of cable lying by her feet.
Play it again and again
Spotify's Billions Club tracks the world's most popular songs, but many greats are nowhere to be found. What are the forces shaping pop's new canon?
David Lynch 1946 -2025
The maverick American surrealist film director sustained a successful mainstream career while also probing the bizarre, the radical and the experimental
Election fever grows ....but Trump is pulling the strings
The machinations of Elon Musk andthe returning US president loom large in minds of politicians and voters
International response America's allies hope for the best-but prepare for the worst
Western allies of the US are braced for the return of Donald Trump, still hoping for the best, but largely unprepared for what may prove to be a chaotic and disorientating worst.
Mood music
Listening to, or playing, the right song can soothe pain, lift depression and help treat conditions as diverse as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, PTSD and back pain. Neuroscientist and bestselling author Daniel Levitin gives his musical recommendations for better health, drawing on his experience of helping his friend, the legendary songwriter Joni Mitchell.
Gaza's devastation The terrible price exacted by Israel for 7 October attack
Israel began bombing Gaza on 7 October 2023 after Hamas crossed the border, killed about 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage to Gaza.
North Koreans' capture sheds new light on war
The news was sensational.
Fragile truce An agreement is in place-if it will hold matter is another
The hours-long delay in implementing the Gaza ceasefire agreement last Sunday was not a good omen for a deal that many fear could be doomed to failure as it moves through its challenging three phases.
Why did LA's wildfires explode out of control?
Acombustible combination of factors laid the groundwork for disaster as the city struggled with catastrophic blazes
