London

Did you know that there's an organisation that promotes the idea that some races are genetically 'low IQ'? Welcome to 'scientific racism', the underground movement that seeks to cloak racial stereotypes under explanations based on widely discredited theories.

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A joint probe by the British paper The Guardian and the advocacy group Hope Not Hate has found that the organisation, Human Diversity Foundation, has got funding from the multimillionaire US tech entrepreneur Andrew Conru.

Conru reportedly pulled the support after he was outed as a donor. 

The moderately named Human Diversity Foundation, or HDF, links race theories to genetics, including claims of superior intelligence for some ethnic groups.

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Their methods, according to the investigation, include podcasts, videos, newsletters and 'research papers' spreading what Hope Not Hate called 'dangerous ideology.'

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Conru, who gave more than $1 million to the group, reportedly pulled the support after seeing its activities strayed from non-partisan academic research.

HDF seeks to repackage racial stereotypes, trying to explain that genetic factors are behind inequalities among racial groups, and seeking to undermine government policies aimed at addressing racial discrimination.

The investigation showed that HDF is linked to right-wing extremist groups in Europe, and even to Alternative für Deutschland or AfD, the mainstream far-right party in Germany.

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One of their clarion calls is for the so-called 'remigration' of ethnic minorities.

It was advocated by German extreme right activist Erik Ahrens, who even even called for creating a secret club to restore 'white society' on the lines of what Adolf Hitler did in Germany during the Nazi regime.

Interestingly, immigration is a trope used by current US presidential candidate Donald Trump in his campaign rallies.

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The organiser of HDF in UK is a former religious studies teacher, according to The Guardian.

Undercover videos of him from a far-right conference were recorded by Hope Not Hate, which first investigated the group, and shared with The Guardian.

What is 'scientific racism'?

'Scientific racism' is a broad term given by mainstream academics to describe the movement to revive 'race science', which seeks to repurpose arguments such as some races have higher average IQ, while others have a tendency to commit crime.

Scientific racism advocates try to explain out racial inequality by attributing it to genetics, and not discrimination over the years.

(With inputs from agencies)