Britain’s libertarian “Dark Network”: The Battle of Ideas, Spiked and public health

The UK’s “Battle of Ideas (BoI) Festival” is an annual libertarian and “free speech” event, which often involves participants from health harming industries, alongside independent speakers including research funders, and academics. Its activities have never been systematically analysed. This study analysed the content and structure of BoI events, participants, funders and framings, and places it in the context of its wider ideological network. Methods: We identified all BOI health-related sessions from 2005-2024, and extracted all relevant abstracts, descriptions and audio/video recordings. We analysed the speakers, partners and funders, and identified the main arguments and framings presented, placing them in the historical context of the BoI and relationships among the BoI main actors and its networks. A hybrid qualitative analytic approach was used, alongside Social Network Analysis to analyse the relationships. Results: 154 health-related sessions and 272 named funders or partners were identifed. About 27% of the classifiable funders/partners/supporters were related to the BoI, the Institute of Ideas, Spiked, Living Marxism (LM), or free speech/libertarian organisations. Businesses or corporations (e.g. Shell, Pfizer, SAB Miller), or related organisations comprised around 17%. Other funders or partners included researcher councils and funders (e.g. Wellcome, ESRC, RCUK, MRC). The most common themes included: the benefits of fossil fuels and plastics; the need for the development and the maintenance of consumption; liberty/freedom; and the benefits of gene technologies. Areas subject to extreme criticism include the NHS, science and public health. Common narratives included: most normal harms and risks are exaggerated by self-serving academics, and other experts, and can either be ignored, or mitigated in future by industrial and technological innovations. Chief among these exaggerated or non-existent risks are climate change, and the harms of commercial products like gambling, alcohol and processed foods. The risks to children in particular are exaggerated, such the risks of obesity, bullying, poor mental health, and the risk of abuse from adults. Policymakers should be careful not to allow scientific evidence into policymaking processes, lest policymaking should become “evidence-based”, as opposed to being based on common sense, debate and experience. Discussion: Our analysis suggests that the BOI provides a platform for the organisers and their wider network to promote libertarian, contrarian themes. Chief among these are anti-science, anti-expert, and anti-public health positions. These narratives align closely with the political and ideological stances of LM, Spiked, and the writings of those in the network over many decades, including MCC Brussels, a new think tank funded by Russian oil money and the Hungarian Government, which is part of a network of far-right conservative organisations. Our findings are also consistent with BOI serving as a structure for disseminating the ideological and political positions of a wider ‘Dark Money’ network, and its international funders and collaborators. The BOI networks’ goals also appear closely aligned with those of international (US, and European) movements which promote the dominance of new technologies, eugenics and social Darwinism; and with current technocratic authoritarian movements which threaten to undermine democratic governance in favour of the power of elites, markets and individual autonomy.