Protest group Led By Donkeys is to release a book about its rise to social media stardom, after the success of its billboards highlighting politicians’ hypocritical or contentious statements.
The anti-Brexit campaigners first went viral in early 2019 after pasting giant posters to billboards in Dover, including one showing Prime Minister Theresa May tweeting her support for Remain in early 2016 and another of Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg in 2011 suggesting the UK could have two EU referendums.
They have since gained more than 240,000 Twitter followers and raised some £435,000 in funding from donations by the public.
Ben Stewart, James Sadri, Oliver Knowles and Will Rose, the four men behind the group, revealed their identities last week after registering with the Electoral Commission to be transparent about their funding.
“We’re as surprised as anybody at how big this thing has become,” they said in a joint statement.
“We started off as a guerrilla outfit, going out at night after we’d put our kids to bed to put up giant posters of the Brexiteers’ hypocrisy.
“Ten weeks later we were hiring a helicopter to film us deploying an 800-square-metre crowd banner in Parliament Square.”
178a. Parliament Square pic.twitter.com/QknOfvW5qx
— Led By Donkeys (@ByDonkeys) March 30, 2019
“It’s been one of the greatest adventures of our lives and we’ve had to do it all in gaps between our day jobs and young kids,” they added.
“It’s a good story and we’re excited to tell it.”
Led By Donkeys most recently took aim at US President Donald Trump on his state visit, projecting on to the Tower of London YouGov figures of his UK approval rating (21%) compared with Barack Obama’s (72%), among other demonstrations.
Hi @realDonaldTrump. Just so you know, you’re wildly unpopular here in Britain. SAD! People REALLY don’t like you (though they love @BarackObama). Hope you like seeing your FAILING approval numbers projected onto the Tower of London. #TrumpUKvisit pic.twitter.com/oT332Fd6fE
— Led By Donkeys (@ByDonkeys) June 3, 2019
The book, entitled Led By Donkeys, will be published by Atlantic Books on October 31, the day the UK is due to leave the EU.