“They Call It Over-diagnosis”: Nigel Farage, John Mappin, and the Return of the Mad Psychiatrist Trope
Farage Declares a “Mental Health Over-diagnosis Epidemic”
When Farage calls children with SEND “over-diagnosed,” he’s not just dog-whistling to sceptics of “woke culture.” He’s echoing a deeper, older, and more dangerous tradition.
📣 The News: Farage Declares a “Mental Health Overdiagnosis Epidemic”
On April 24th, 2025, Nigel Farage told the public that the UK is “massively over-diagnosing” mental illness and creating a “class of victims.” SEND children, autistic people, and those with neurodivergent conditions, he implied, are being labeled too easily—made into “dependents” of the state.
Outrage followed.
The National Autistic Society called it dangerous misinformation.
Charities accused him of scapegoating vulnerable people for political gain.
Rethink Mental Illness emphasised how Farage’s remarks undermine legitimate psychiatric diagnoses.
But there's more going on beneath the surface.
🧬 Who’s Whispering in Farage’s Ear?
In 2021, Farage was employed by GB News—a channel partially funded and promoted by none other than John Mappin.
Mappin is a man with many hats:
A Scientology adherent
A QAnon booster
A long-time pusher of anti-psychiatry conspiracies
He is on record claiming that psychiatry is a form of mind control and a tool of totalitarian power. In other words, Farage's 2025 remarks are not original ideas—they’re recycled Mappinisms, rebranded in populist drag.
🧩 The Ideological Web
Farage worked under Mappin, who promotes QAnon and Scientology.
These ideologies share a virulent opposition to psychiatry, portraying it as a weapon of social control.
Scientology calls psychiatrists "the root of evil"—QAnon calls them “deep state manipulators.”
Sound familiar?
🎨 The Propaganda Aesthetic: An Old Evil in New Clothes
Image shared by John Mappin on X
Let’s talk about the image. This “satirical” painting of a wild-eyed man in a Union Jack tie labeled Government Psychiatrist stands in front of a nuclear apocalypse.
It might seem absurd—until you realise how closely it mirrors early-20th-century antisemitic caricature:
Big nose, manic smile, crazed eyes → Classic Der Stürmer aesthetics.
Glasses and clipboard → Coded signs of sinister “expertise.”
Mushroom cloud and burning cities → The “destruction of civilisation” trope.
Union Jack tie → Suggesting infiltration of British national identity.
This is not an accident. It’s the visual grammar of hate, masquerading as satire. It is also connected to russian disinformation regarding Ukraine.
🧠 Why This Matters: From Farage to Fringe to Fascist Fantasies
What begins as a political talking point (“too many kids being diagnosed”) quickly aligns with a worldview in which:
Mental illness isn’t real.
Psychiatrists are manipulators.
Neurodivergent people are part of a fake victim class.
From Trumpist America to British ethno-nationalism, this narrative isn’t fringe anymore. It’s walking into mainstream policy platforms—armed with conspiracy theory, pseudo-science, and barely veiled bigotry.