Far-right activists in Australia who have been banned by major social networks including Twitter and Facebook have turned to a niche social network popular with online extremists.

Blair Cottrell and Neil Erikson were both banned from Twitter earlier this month. Facebook has also removed pages used by the two men.

However, the activists have instead joined Gab, an alternative social media website popular with the far-right.

Cottrell and Erikson recently created accounts on the social network, which describes itself as an “ad-free social network dedicated to preserving individual liberty, the freedom of speech, and the free flow of information on the internet.”

Australia’s far-right groups have come under increased scrutiny following the killing of 50 people in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Brenton Tarrant, the terrorist who led the attack, is an Australian citizen.

An investigation by the ABC television channel in Australia found that Tarrant had praised Cottrell on Facebook, at one point referring to him as “Emperor Blair.”

Founded in 2016, Gab’s free speech positioning has attracted many users who have been banned from other social media websites.

As well as Cottrell and Erikson, prominent Gab users include Milo Yiannopoulos who was banned from Twitter in 2016, and Alex Jones, the main host of the Infowars conspiracy channel. Jones’ channel has been blocked by sites including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Robert Bowers, the suspected gunman in the shooting of 11 Jewish People in a Pittsburgh synagogue in October, was a Gab user who posted on the social network before the attack.

An investigation by The Telegraph last year found that Gab has hosted dozens of pages of racist and anti-Semitic content.

Social media posts inciting racial hatred, including calls to set Muslims and MPs' homes on fire, assault transgender people and share anti-Semitic slurs were hosted on the social network.

Internet service providers in Australia temporarily blocked several websites following the Christchurch shootings after footage of the killings remained available to watch online.

Websites including 8chan, the online forum where the shooter published his manifesto, as well as 4chan, Voat and LiveLeak were all blocked.

Jared Holt, a researcher who has studied the far-right’s use of the internet and social media, said that the internet restrictions have helped Gab to attract new users.

“Gab has used news of internet restrictions from Australian telecoms companies to promote its own products. Some New Zealand internet service providers have reportedly blocked Gab’s commenting platform Dissenter,” he said.

“Because virtual private network technologies have become more accessible, popular, and user-friendly for tech users, I’d imagine it would be more likely that far-right users install that kind of software and continue posting in the same communities they’ve been in, where they can interact with an international community of like-minded individuals,” he added.