( CNN ) -- They distrust government and the justice system as well as Europe 's political elite . They rail against multiculturalism and believe their national identity is being swamped by immigration and their culture strangled by Islam . They are implacably hostile to `` big money '' -- banks and other financial institutions . They are getting organized , online and off , and thriving amid Europe 's eurozone crisis . `` They '' are populist groups and parties from Scandinavia to Hungary . Some compete in elections with growing success , picking up protest votes that yield seats in government and the European Parliament . Others are street movements like the English Defense League and Bloc Identitaire in France that eschew the political process . But they have one thing in common : a growing following through social media . A new survey by the think tank Demos found that 14 prominent populist movements in Europe had 436,000 Facebook followers between them -- with the far-right British National Party and the Austrian Freedom Party each having more than 80,000 . Of those followers , 32 % were younger than 21 . Demos asked supporters of these populist groups on Facebook to respond to a survey -- and more than 12,000 did . The survey found the supporters were predominantly young men , more likely to take part in protests than other groups and highly disillusioned with mainstream politics . Only 20 % of these online supporters trusted their national governments . And the vast majority listed immigration and Islamic extremism as their greatest concerns . Significantly , while a majority of those surveyed disavowed violence , 26 % regarded it as `` acceptable to achieve the right outcome . '' Among followers of Bloc Identitaire in France and CasaPound Italia in Italy , the proportion rose to well over 40 % . CasaPound is named after American poet Ezra Pound , who supported dictator Benito Mussolini , and its leader told the Guardian newspaper this week that the fascist leader was the group 's `` point of reference . '' Several supporters of Bloc Identitaire last month staged a `` white die-in '' on the streets of Dijon as a protest against perceived inaction by the authorities after the murder of a white teenager . This mind-set has already led to a violent response among a tiny minority , as the Norway massacre earlier this year -- and admitted to by suspect Anders Breivik -- showed . Breivik purportedly authored a 1,500-page manifesto critical of Muslim immigration and European liberalism . The sort of grievances that motivated Breivik are echoed throughout the Demos survey . One supporter of the English Defense League wrote : `` No way can a Muslim race bring their rules to our country . '' Another respondent identifying himself as a supporter of the Dansk Folkeparti , which has 25 seats in the Danish parliament , reflected a view widely held among respondents : `` The foreigners are slowly suffocating our lovely country . They have all these children and raise them so badly that in three or four generations there 'll be no ... well-behaved children at all . '' A supporter of the German group Die Freiheit said his priorities were `` human rights ... against Islamisation of Europe and intolerance by Turkish and Arabic immigrants towards gays and Jews , '' an unusual twist on the traditional phobias of the far right . By country , supporters of the French National Front and Bloc Identitaire were the most concerned about immigration , while followers of the Dutch Freedom Party were the most likely to rate Islamic extremism among their top concerns . The party , part of the current coalition government in the Netherlands , is led by Geert Wilders , who has described Islam as a 'fascist ' religion . While some respondents were openly racist , others were more concerned that Muslim immigrants avoided assimilation . `` Prevent the oppression of Islamic women , '' wrote one Swedish respondent , `` by banning the burqa in public places . '' Many respondents share a loathing of what they see as a corrupt and complacent political class . A Facebook follower of the French National Front lamented `` the desperate lies of the MPs , the comfortable way in which they live while the French face a multitude of problems such as insecurity , mass immigration ... '' A supporter of the Northern League in Italy , which has a significant presence in the national and regional assemblies , commented `` I hate politicians ; they are all disgusting , especially when they get to the armchair of power . '' This sentiment feeds into a gloomy assessment of Europe 's future among followers of these populist movements . Asked whether their country was on the right track , supporters of French , British , German and Belgian groups were the most downbeat , with fewer than 10 % optimistic about the future . Increasingly , the sentiment appears to be feeding growing hostility toward the European Union . Large majorities of supporters in all but one group ( the exception being the Northern League in Italy ) regard the EU as a waste of money , with inadequate control over its external borders , and hold it responsible for a loss of cultural identity . Demos says the survey shows how the convergence of virtual and real-world political activity `` is the way millions of people -- especially young people -- relate to politics in the 21st century . '' The challenge to European politicians , as they lurch from one crisis summit to the next , is to ensure this alienated generation does not desert civic society altogether .
Populist movements in Iran have a large online presence . Supporters campaign against multiculturalism and Islamic extremism . Some parties compete in elections with limited success .