How the far-right weaponised a clip of the call to prayer to spread hate on Twitter

April 29, 2020 Article

A trial public broadcast of the Islamic call to prayer (the adhan, azaan) in West London has been weaponised by the far-right on Telegram and Twitter to spread racialised conspiracies of hate.

Credit: Twitter.

The short video, which first appeared on Twitter on April 24, coinciding with the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, and would also appear a day later, after the journalist Aina Khan, shared the video, having remarked on its ethereal beauty, adding that public broadcast was a trial.

Within hours, and in the days ahead, the video was presented in a different, more harmful context when messages began to link the clip to racialised conspiracies of forced demographic changes.

As reported last week, the racialised and conspiracist manipulation of out-of-context videos had appeared on far-right Telegram channels had re-circulated from the same Twitter accounts, with one account boasting more than 60,000 video views – a ten-fold increase on what some of the earlier, non-inflammatory posts had generated.

Academics have explored how the far-right continues to weaponise visual content on social media with attention paid to the neo-fascist British National Party (BNP). Broader research explores the use of meme culture, and how the far-right adapt to new technologies for hyperpartisan, ideological pursuits.

A regional BNP Twitter account had captioned the shared video, “Retweet if you think this is Noise Pollution.”

This idea of ‘noise pollution’ and mosques has been explored by various academics, who have compared complaints about the East London Mosque broadcasting the adhan over loudspeakers in 1986 to similar protests against the Liverpool Mosque founded by Abdullah Quilliam in 1889.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus lockdown, mosques remain closed nationwide, and to remind Muslims of their togetherness in this holy month, mosques in parts of Europe, the United States, and in Canada, have been granted special dispensation to broadcast the azaan over loudspeakers.

In the city of Halifax, for example, in the Ontario province of Canada, approval was given to broadcast the azaan over loudspeakers at sunset throughout Ramadan.

In Minneapolis, in the United States, Mayor Jacob Frey granted a permit for Dar Ul Hijra Mosque to broadcast the azaan five times a day for the public during Ramadan, with loudspeakers directing the prayers towards Muslims living in the Riverside Plaza apartments, as to not to disturb businesses and other residents.

Before Ramadan began, other cities like Paterson, in New Jersey, announced changes to its ordinance to allow for exceptions to its noise regulations for various religious worship. Some mosques in Paterson, however, were publicly broadcasting the azaan, others do not. Officials added that there was no record of mosques in Paterson receiving noise summons for broadcasting the call to prayer.

This gesture offers a source of solace and comfort for Muslims observing the lockdown, with mosque doors remaining closed throughout the holy month.

Tell MAMA continues to urge Twitter to deal with the far-right accounts pushing such incendiary, misleading content.

 

 

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Categories: News, Telegram

TikTok bans Britain First and Tommy Robinson for hate speech violations

April 23, 2020 Article

Video-sharing app TikTok has banned the accounts of far-right agitators Britain First and Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson).

In a statement, the company confirmed to Tell MAMA that both accounts “had been subject to an ongoing investigation due to the nature of some of the content posted.”

Multiple content violations concerned the use of hate speech, which fall foul of the platform’s Terms and Conditions.

The ban is permanent, meaning that neither Mr Robinson nor Britain First can return to TikTok.

A TikTok spokesperson said: “Keeping people on TikTok safe is a top priority and our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines clearly outline what is not acceptable on our platform. Content that seeks to promote hateful ideology has no place on TikTok and the accounts belonging to both Tommy Robinson and Britain First have been permanently removed for multiple violations of our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. We’re continuously enhancing our efforts to ensure that individuals and organisations seeking to promote any form of hateful ideology cannot establish a sustainable presence on TikTok.”

Recent investigations has exposed their activity on the platform.

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and Britain First have been banned from all other major social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat.

Tell MAMA welcomes this ban, as all social media platforms have a duty to protect its users from hate speech, and ban those who breach its policies.

 

 

 

 

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Categories: Britain First, News, Tommy Robinson

Far-right fakery: video of panic buyers queuing filmed 8 days before coronavirus lockdown began

April 20, 2020 Article

A viral video purporting to show minority ethnic groups flouting the coronavirus lockdown is another incendiary piece of re-purposed far-right propaganda, Tell MAMA can reveal.

The video, which claims to show the police ‘ignoring’ long queues outside of a cash & carry store on Romford Road, in North-East London on April 17, first appeared online a month earlier, on March 17 – eight days before the prime minister Boris Johnson announced strict lockdown measures.

Others have attempted to use footage filmed on April 14 at the same location to stoke racial tensions.

The March 17 video appeared on Twitter at 4:51 pm GMT, and was captioned, “Panic buy in very famous Asian departmental store, The Mina store in Manor park, London E12.”

We compared both videos, revealing that the tweet on the left, was taken on March 17, eight days before the lockdown was introduced. On the right, is from a far-right user, using the same video to claim that it was filmed on April 17.

On the evening of April 17, the re-purposed content shared from the Twitter and Telegram accounts of a far-right activist which had gained over five-thousand views on both platforms, dwarfing the 202 views of the original video, which had reflected a moment in time when panic buying made headlines nationally.

On Twitter, the far-right @DawkinsReturns account, shared the re-purposed video with the caption ‘Social Distancing?’ but on Telegram, however, used racialised language to describe the minority ethnic groups featured as the ‘new British’. This user has previously shared anti-Muslim and far-right conspiracies on Twitter, including accusing a Muslim woman of ‘taqiyya‘ and sharing a video discussing demographic change captioned “Britain first live talk on demographics and the great replacement theory.”

The latter far-right conspiracy inspired the white supremacist terror attacks in New Zealand which left 51 Muslims dead last March (and inspired further acts of racist terror in various countries).

Other Twitter accounts would copy the text of this Telegram post, and when combined, had gained almost two-thousand retweets, as the video gained over 50,000 views from both posts.

Tell MAMA continues to urge Twitter to revise its policies and allow users to report tweets designed to mislead and stoke racial and religious hatred. Academics have made similar arguments and warnings.

This problem has intensified during the lockdown, as Tell MAMA has highlighted other examples in recent weeks. Nor is the issue isolated to the UK, as viral falsehoods have gained traction in the United States and India.

 

 

 

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Categories: Coronavirus, Fake News, News

Mother and daughter racially abused and assaulted in changing room

April 14, 2020 Article

A woman racially abused a black Muslim woman and then assaulted her and her young daughter at a leisure centre in North London.

The Metropolitan Police are investigating the attack which occurred on February 7.

Tell MAMA can reveal that the mother and her young daughters were waiting in the changing area when a woman informed them to move their bags and to remove her hijab, and when the mother requested to know why, she received a torrent of racial abuse, which included statements like, “Go away, you’re not from here, you’re Muslim,” and “you’re black, you’re from Africa, you’re Somali, you’re smelly.”

The horrendous racial abuse soon morphed into physical violence, as the woman spat in the Muslim woman’s face on two occasions, pulling at her hair when she attempted to stop her from assault one of her daughters.

The family expressed their concerns about how management had handled their initial complaint, which, in their opinion, did not treat it with the seriousness required, including an initial claim from staff that there was no formal complaints process.

An apology, however, given over email following a written complaint, also confirmed that management is happy to assist with the police investigation.

There was a noted frustration with the prolonged reporting process to the police, as the family had been told on more than one occasion, to report the racist attack online instead, even after visiting their local station.

Tell MAMA will assist in the matter further when required, and to protect the identities of those affected, we have declined to reveal further details as the investigation is ongoing.

You can get advice from our confidential and free helpline on 0800 456 1226. Or through our free iOS or Android apps. Report through our online form. Or contact us via WhatsApp on 0734 184 6086.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Categories: London, MET Police, News

Racist coughed in Muslim woman’s face and told her he had Covid-19

April 1, 2020 Article

A racist man coughed in the face of a Muslim woman and told her he had the coronavirus (Covid-19) before calling her a ‘raghead’ after she challenged him.

The Metropolitan Police are investigating the assault which occurred on March 18 in South London.

Speaking to Tell MAMA, the white Muslim woman, who wears the hijab, agreed to have her story told anonymously.

She described how she did her best to avoid him when walking in the high street, but the man turned towards her and got in her face.

Following the assault, she informed him, that after already experiencing Covid-19 and that she could not catch it again, he swore at her and used the racial slur ‘raghead’ before leaving.

This assault demonstrates how the racialisation of Muslims and their religious clothing, harms all Muslims, irrespective of their ethnicity.

The gendered nature of this abuse and violence demonstrates the intersecting influence of misogyny, given the gendered stereotypes of Muslim women who wear the hijab (or other forms of religious clothing) as being ‘meek and submissive’, are themes explored in various Tell MAMA annual reports.

She described the man as being white, who was in his mid-to-late thirties.

The assault has left the woman feeling anxious and fearful of a similar attack, though the lockdown has created a sense of safety.

Tell MAMA is monitoring the investigation and will continue to assist if needed.

You can get advice from our confidential and free helpline on 0800 456 1226. Or through our free iOS or Android apps. Report through our online form. Or contact us via WhatsApp on 0734 184 6086.

 

 

 

 

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Categories: Coronavirus, COVID-19, hate crime, London, Metropolitan Police, News, racialisation

Shropshire Police debunk malicious tweet about a mosque ‘ignoring’ the coronavirus lockdown

March 30, 2020 Article

Shropshire Police and other Twitter users have debunked a malicious tweet which claimed that a ‘mosque in Shrewsbury’ was ignoring the coronavirus lockdown.

The offending tweet, published on March 26, from a user who claimed ‘to have spoken to the mosque’ and was ‘horrified’ to find that it was still open, adding that the people inside could be ‘super spreaders’ of the virus, and urged the police to act.

Credit: Twitter.

The Shrewsbury Muslim Centre, however, has continued to observe the lockdown since the government’s advice changed earlier this month. In a statement published on March 19, the centre added, as with many places of worship, spoke of their acute concern about the virus and would, therefore, cease holding Friday (Jummah) prayers until further notice.

Credit: Shrewsbury Muslim Centre.

Shropshire Police tweeted yesterday evening that “Probably because there is no Mosque in Shrewsbury. There is a prayer centre & it has been checked and is fully compliant with the current government requirements.”

Other Twitter users condemned the flagrant attempt at stirring up anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia, writing, “Shropshire Police thanks for standing up in favour off against the hater who want to pour petrol and stir up tensions in the community.” One user added that “There isn’t a mosque in Shrewsbury ya daft racist,” as another user replied, “You’re a super spreader of lies and racism.”

Some condemned the user for wasting police time and resources, adding that, “Wasting police time, Russ. You’re nowhere near my town. Thank goodness.”

The tweet did attract attention from a plethora of nationalist and far-right accounts, but a clear majority of the replies condemned the malicious tweet.

When asked what they were going to do about such hateful conduct, Shropshire Police replied that it had been “all duly recorded & reported.”

Tell MAMA urges users to report the malicious tweet, as others have done so. We welcome the quick debunking by Shropshire Police and others who challenged this malicious and inflammatory tweet.

You can get advice from our confidential and free helpline on 0800 456 1226. Or through our free iOS or Android apps. Report through our online form. Or contact us via WhatsApp on 0734 184 6086.

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Categories: Coronavirus, News, Shropshire Police

No, the Muslims praying in this video aren’t ignoring the coronavirus lockdown. It’s far-right fake news

March 26, 2020 Article

A viral and misleading tweet which attempted to portray a group of Muslims in Wembley, north-west London, ignoring government advice on social distancing during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, has drawn wide condemnation and reports concerning its breach of Twitter’s hateful conduct policies.

The tweet, which appeared on the platform at 9:43 am on March 25 from a far-right account (which also promotes antisemitic and Islamophobic conspiracies, including the far-right obsessive interest in the obscure concept of taqiyya) has gained over sixteen-hundred retweets as of writing.

The tweet tried to claim that the Muslims were ‘arrogantly’ ignoring medical advice. But after researching the origins of the video, after several members of the public reported the tweet to our service, Tell MAMA can confirm, with a high degree of confidence, that the video is several weeks old, a version of which appeared on Facebook on March 3. Photographs, however, uploaded to the platform on February 28, shared in a negative review of Wembley Central Masjid, from a Muslim man, had lamented how the mosque had been closed for six weeks (over an internal dispute), adding that Friday (Jummah) prayers had to take place on a pavement in the rain.

Six days before the viral anti-Muslim and Islamophobic tweet from the @FormerWorshiper account, the mosque had announced on Facebook that it had suspended all congregational services and activities, reflecting the updated governmental advice regarding the coronavirus pandemic.

Credit:Facebook/WembleyCentralMasjidOfficial

Tell MAMA urged users to report the inflammatory tweet yesterday afternoon.

Others have done the same, writing, “FAKE. It hasn’t rained in London in days. Also, look at this racist’s timeline and report it.”

Various Twitter users also highlighted the lack of rain in London (as the video was filmed during in rainy conditions), and condemned its deliberate stoking of anti-Muslim and Islamophobic tensions.

Some were taken in or emboldened by the propaganda, writing, “How about they are arrested & deported for breaking the curfew!!! Remind me, who rules Britain?!!!”. Others called for the police to disperse an event which had occurred weeks prior, as one user even responded that the army should intervene. More ideologically motivated accounts added that Islam should be banned.

Several far-right channels on the encrypted messaging app Telegram would share a GIF of the video, including Britain First, hours later, gaining several thousand views.

We have urged Twitter to revise its policies and allow users to report tweets designed to mislead that stoke racial and religious hatred. And make that request again.

In an effort to promote social media and internet research skills, we have released an educational video for communities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Categories: Fake News, News

Racist threatened to ‘blow up’ Muslim woman and her family on a crowded bus

March 5, 2020 Article

A racist threatened a Muslim woman on a crowded bus in Newcastle, suggesting that he would ‘blow her and her family up’.

Other passengers were targeted with racist abuse, even after the driver had warned him to stop if he wanted to stay on the bus, following several passenger complaints.

The Muslim woman who contacted Tell MAMA, however, speaking on the basis of anonymity, felt frustrated that the driver did not do more to remove the racist man, even when she challenged their assertion that the man was merely ‘drunk’.

She also overheard radio instructions that the driver should ‘pull over’ after Northumbria Police were contacted, but he did not, alluding instead, to the volume of traffic.

The violent racist language took on a physical form, as he spat towards some black women, and called another man the N-word, and called the Muslim woman, herself South Asian, a “P*ki”. She and another male passenger prevented the racist man from enacting further violence as he soon exited the bus.

Since the police had yet to arrive, she left the bus at her usual stop and contacted them when home.

The racist incident occurred on February 24.

She described the perpetrator as being a white male in his fifties.

The police investigation is ongoing.

Tell MAMA continues to document how anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia harms the mobility of Muslim women, notably in public areas, accessing goods and services, and when using public transport. Discrimination remains a growing problem.

In the previous reporting cycle, almost one-fifth of verified reports (18 per cent, n=156) to Tell MAMA took place on transport networks.

 

 

 

 

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Categories: Hate Speech, News, public transport

Muslim woman called “Muzzie scumbag” as she walked near King’s Cross station

March 2, 2020 Article

A Muslim woman walking near King’s Cross station was racially abused by an older white male who, in a tirade of abuse, called her a ‘muzzie scumbag’.

The incident occurred at around 18:00 GMT on February 3. Feeling unsafe, she increased her walking pace to get away from the individual.

Upon returning home, she reported the incident to the Metropolitan Police through the online reporting platform True Vision.

She described the man as being white, middle-aged, around 55 to 65-years-old.

Speaking to Tell MAMA, the woman, who consented to have their story told anonymously, had mentioned that she had never experienced such abuse before, adding that prior, it was a mixture of hostile stares and glances.

She thanked Tell MAMA for their service and for the difference the organisation is making.

The targeting of Muslim women for their religious clothing demonstrates, which in this example, concerns the hijab, reflects the gendered nature of othering and racialisation Muslim women face.

The framing of the hijab as a cultural oddity, othered for its perceived foreignness, means having to navigate constant questions of their cultural values, according to some academics. As others point out that the hijab (and, by extension, other religious clothing on Muslim women) embodies “all that is perceived to be wrong, problematic and threatening about Islam and Muslims.”

Tell MAMA has long documented how the dehumanising slur “muzzie” which gained notoriety in the English far-right has become more normalised, in everyday discussions, even amongst neighbours in recent years. In our annual report for the 2017 reporting cycle, a racist neighbour mocked a Muslim individual who, when informed that their anti-Muslim and Islamophobic behaviour would become a police matter, suggesting that the police had ‘no interest’ in helping a ‘Muzzie’.

You can get advice from our confidential and free helpline on 0800 456 1226. Or through our free iOS or Android apps. Report through our online form. Or contact us via WhatsApp on 0734 184 6086.

 

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Categories: hate crime, Hate Speech, Hijab, King's Cross, London, News

Katie Hopkins: the viral power of an anti-Muslim falsehood on Twitter

February 24, 2020 Article

A viral tweet from the far-right commentator Katie Hopkins further demonstrates the need for Twitter to allow users to report content designed to deceive and pass as news.

Hopkins, was, for a brief time, suspended from Twitter for breaching its hateful conduct policies, but the ban was temporary.

The tweet, posted at 9:31 pm on February 23, begins, “Beautiful Indian lady punched in the face by Muslim man in racist attack in Birmingham.”

Credit: Twitter.

Hopkins then offers a partial unattributed quote from Meera Solanki (the woman assaulted), who described how the man, described as Asian in police reports, approached them during dinner, as he “seemed to have a problem with me being an Indian girl with a multi-racial group of friends”.

Ms Solanki was punched and briefly knocked unconscious after attempting to stop the same man from directing his anti-Chinese racism towards her friend Mandy Huang. This individual had followed the women after they had left the restaurant and made comments towards Ms Huang like “take your f****** Coronavirus and take it back home“ and referred to her as a “dirty c***k”.

Katie Hopkins, of course, provides no evidence to show this perpetrator is Muslim, but her use of the hashtag ‘#LittePakistan’ serves two distinct and revealing functions: it racialises and stereotypes that Muslims in Birmingham are Pakistani (despite 8,681 British-Indians in Birmingham self-identifying as Muslim in the 2011 Census); and, from an ideological position, seeks to foster divisions between Indian and Pakistani communities, given her pro-Modi posturings last year regarding Kashmir. She appeared outside of the United Nations in Geneva with David Vance according to an interview with ANI News last September. Some, however, have questioned the veracity of Hopkins claim of speaking inside of the UN building.

Academics have documented, more broadly, how at around the same time, the European far-right had made solidarity visits to Kashmir, even after foreign journalists and politicians had been denied entry, following the scrapping of Article 370, which stripped the state of Jammu and Kashmir of its relative political autonomy, forcing it to abide by the Indian constitution.

This example of racialising Muslims, functions through the deliberate blurring of Asian and Pakistani communities, despite not all Pakistanis identifying as Muslim. In Birmingham alone, just over 6 per cent of British-Pakistanis self-identified with other religions (as 7,177 chose not to state their religion), including 597 Christians, 441 Sikhs, and 213 Hindus in the 2011 Census.

Credit: Nomis.

Racialisation, for other academics, concerns the process of identifying and stereotyping groups through cultural identifiers like religion and comes with spatial and geographic significance for discriminated groups. The idea of racialisation also “relies upon asserted inherentisms, and it reinforces cultural hierarchies and privilege.” Others argue that racialisation impacts Muslim men and women in gendered ways, as “Men are more likely to be viewed as if they are disloyal and a threat to national security.” Whereas for Muslim women, they argue, the hijab is ‘othered’ as a cultural oddity or threat, raising questions about national identity and loyalty. Discrimination in housing in education creates the racialisation of geographical space

Other examples of anti-Chinese and anti-East Asian racism following the coronavirus outbreak have included physical acts of violence, racial bullying in schools, discrimination (on public transport and in places of work), and microaggressions where individuals have moved away from them on public transport. Several universities have issued press releases condemning racism against their students.

A spokesperson for the Birmingham Chinese society has stated that abuse has always existed but some were using the virus as a pretext for racial harassment, abuse, and violence.

She explained: “We wear masks to protect others from our coughs and sneezes. Some wear them as protection against pollution. Some women wear them because they don’t want to be seen without make-up. We do it to protect others, not ourselves.”

Anyone with information about this ssault is urged to contact West Midlands Police by quoting the crime reference number 20BW/39330Q/20 if you have information about the assault by calling 101 anytime, or by using their Live Chat function (8 am to midnight).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Categories: Fake News, Katie Hopkins, News