Leave that bloke from Mumford & Sons alone
He has been accused of being a Nazi simply for praising a book about Antifa.

Want to read spiked ad-free? Become a spiked supporter.
Winston Marshall, the lead guitarist of British folk band Mumford & Sons, has been baselessly accused of holding far-right sympathies. In one of the most absurd Twitterstorms of the year so far, ‘Mumford’ was trending on social media over the weekend after Marshall posted a tweet praising author Andy Ngo.
Ngo, who has made his name documenting various acts of violence by Antifa activists, recently released his new book, Unmasked: Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy. In a since-deleted tweet, Marshall said to Ngo, ‘Finally had time to read your important book’. He also described Ngo as a ‘brave man’.
This prompted an onslaught of abuse from blue-tick Twitter. Comedian Nish Kumar, for example, described Marshall as ‘the nazi mumford’.
I bet the nazi mumford is going to write a pro-Royals protest song
— Nish Kumar (@MrNishKumar) March 8, 2021
British band Sleaford Mods slammed Marshall for ‘openly’ supporting fascism and oppression:
That fact this twat from Mumford is openly showing his support for continued oppression/fascism/the interests of greed, is almost normal now. He inhabits the same landscape most large bands do. Will exist in environments that offer a service to free minded people. It’s fucked
— Sleaford Mods (@sleafordmods) March 7, 2021
Another blue ticker described Mumford & Sons as ‘fash adjacent’. And one tweeted that Marshall had ‘far-right-adjacent views’.
This is ridiculous. All he did was praise a book that criticised Antifa. But ‘far right’ has become a catch-all slur for anyone the Twitterati disagrees with. The branding of Mumford & Sons as essentially fascist is perhaps the most absurd example yet. Leave the man alone.
Picture by: Getty.
Who funds spiked? You do
We are funded by you. And in this era of cancel culture and advertiser boycotts, we rely on your donations more than ever. Seventy per cent of our revenue comes from our readers’ donations – the vast majority giving just £5 per month. If you make a regular donation – of £5 a month or £50 a year – you can become a and enjoy:
–Ad-free reading
–Exclusive events
–Access to our comments section
It’s the best way to keep spiked going – and growing. Thank you!
Comments
Want to join the conversation?
Only spiked supporters and patrons, who donate regularly to us, can comment on our articles.