The cliffs have eyes in Kent, a coastal county in the south of England. Some anxiously watch the horizon to ensure that fragile inflatable dinghies, overloaded with refugees, are picked up by the U.K. Border Force and escorted to safety. Others record footage of the arrivals to post on right-wing social media channels and drum up anti-immigrant hysteria.

One day in July, Darran Cowd stood high above the town of Ramsgate, watching a Royal National Lifeboat Institution vessel make land.

“Our lifeboat brought in a group of refugees that were stranded at sea,” he said, tearing up at the memory. “I was so proud of my friends, bringing those people to safety.”

Soon after, the British far-right activist Nigel Farage posted a picture of the same vessel on Twitter, with a very different sentiment.