United States President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order labelling Antifa as a “domestic terrorist organisation” in the country.
In turn, posts alleging that the Netherlands has designated Antifa as a terrorist organisation gained traction, with some being viewed hundreds of thousands of times across social media.
In one X post viewed more than 300,000 times, one user writes, “BREAKING: The Netherlands has now officially designated Antifa a terror group after a motion was passed. The world is cracking down on these freaks. All of Europe to follow!”
Another post viewed more than 6,000 times states, “Antifa is finished. Well done, Netherlands, in banning before Trump.”
Calls to ban Antifa crossed the Atlantic following the assassination of right-wing activist and influential Trump ally Charlie Kirk in Utah on 10 September, as the US President blamed the “radical left” for Kirk’s killing.
Antifa is a term short for “anti-fascist”, which designates a broad umbrella of loosely affiliated, decentralised activists on the far left of the political spectrum, as well as groups that oppose fascism and neo-Nazism.
Antifa is more of an ideology than an actual organisation, although some of its supporters have embraced militant tactics.
No links between Kirk’s suspected killer, Tyler Robinson, and any other left-wing groups — including Antifa — have been uncovered to date.
According to US authorities, Robinson left behind bullet casings featuring references to fascism, video games and internet memes.
Has the Netherlands banned Antifa?
The claims about the Dutch plan to ban Antifa appear to be rooted in confusion over how the parliamentary process works.
A group of politicians recently tabled a motion to ban Antifa and designate it a terrorist organisation, alleging that it threatens politicians, uses violence, and also intimidates students, as well as journalists.
On 18 September, the motion was passed through a hand-raising vote, obtaining a majority of 76 out of 150 votes.
The motion was tabled by Geert Wilders, the leader of the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), and Caroline van der Plas, founder of the right-wing Farmer Citizen Movement (BBB) party.
Both Wilders and van der Plas belong to parties which were part of the Netherlands’ ruling coalition before it recently collapsed, while Lidewij de Vos, who was the third politician to table the motion, is part of the opposition far-right Forum for Democracy (FvD) party.
Snap elections are now scheduled for 29 October after Wilders’ party left the coalition government in June over a disagreement about migration policy.
So, although the motion was voted through, motions are recommendations, rather than legally binding decisions. This means that, contrary to online claims, the Netherlands has not banned Antifa.
The next steps remain in the hands of the government and the cabinet, who are not under any obligation to carry motions through, unless they concern a motion of no confidence.
Euronews’ verification team contacted the Netherlands’ House of Representatives, which confirmed that “it is now up to the ministers how to deal with this motion.”