Riots in Britain: The Role of Social Media in Promoting Racism and Islamophobia

Background

This article aims to focus on one aspect of the riots in the UK : the use – and misuse – of social media and the role played by social media owners in promoting Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiments.

The riots currently spreading across the UK were ignited on Tuesday,July 29th, when public anger erupted in response to a horrific mass stabbing that left three girls dead and 10 others severely wounded at a dance and yoga studio in Southport, a town just 19 miles north of Liverpool in northwestern England. The assailant has now been identified as Axel Rudakubana, who turns 18 this week, a young man born in Cardiff, Wales to Rwandan parents who raised him as a Christian.

As he was considered a juvenile at the time of the attack, British law dictated that he could not be identified. Far-right figures seized on this to falsely claim on social media that the attacker was Muslim, even falsely naming him as Ali al-Shakdi, a Syrian immigrant and refugee who had just arrived by boat.

The scale of this misinformation was enormous and alarming. Al Jazeera quoted a report by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Marc Owen Jones, an IT expert from Hamid Khalifa University in Doha, Qatar; Jones reported on X that by July 30 (just one day after the initial incident), he had tracked “at least 27 million impressions [on social media] for posts stating or speculating that the attacker was Muslim, a migrant, refugee or foreigner”. This was not an organically growing outburst or spontaneous combustion of anger. This was a deliberate cyberattack of epic proportions intended to promote Islamophobia, racism and hatred towards immigrants.

Who Are the Far-Right Extremists?

Among those chiefly responsible for stirring up current racial and anti-immigrant sentiments include people like influencer Andrew Tate, well-known for his right-wing views although an alleged Muslim himself. In a video on X, he claimed that an “undocumented migrant” who had “arrived on a boat” had attacked the girls in Southport. He further added, “The soul of the Western man is so broken that when the invaders slaughter your daughters, you do absolutely f****** nothing.”

Posts alluding to the “Islamic religion” and associating it with “terrorism” and calling for white people to reclaim their country flooded the internet. Joining in were notorious UK neo-fascists such as Tommy Robinson (real name Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon) and Katie Hopkins. Robinson founded the English Defence League (EDL) and is well-known for his anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim views. Another infamous group isBritain First, a far-right, British fascist and neo-fascist political party and hate group formed in 2011 by former members of the British National Party led by Paul Golding, who spent time in jail for hate crimes against Muslims.

Role of Elon Musk in Facilitating Far-Right Groups’ Propaganda

Elon Musk has also played a crucial role in facilitating the spread of hate messages and Islamophobia in the UK. Acquiring Twitter for US$44 billion in April 2022 and renaming it as X, he criticized its prior moderation decisions and called for a greater emphasis on what he says is “free speech”. In November 2022, he reinstated Tommy Robinson’s account on X, which was banned by Twitter in 2018. Britain First rejoined X after being banned in 2017 under Twitter’s hate speech rules after posting inflammatory anti-Muslim videos. X classified Britain First as an “official organisation” and gave it a gold checkmark on X. Paul Golding and his former deputy Jayda Fransen also had their accounts on X reinstated after being previously banned in the same year as their party.

Additionally, Musk reinstated the previously banned account of Martin Sellner, founder of the Identitarian Movement, a European ethnicsuperiority group with links to Brenton Tarrant. And who is Brenton Tarrant, in case anyone has forgotten? He was the gunman who entered two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019 and slaughtered 51 Muslims during Friday prayers. When X staff member Dom Lemon disagreed with Musk’s engagement with extremist views, Musk fired him. Needless to say, all these extremists were happy and praised Musk for allowing them to use his platform to continue spreading their propaganda and collecting donations.

It is noteworthy to mention his response to news of the riots in the UK; it clearly reveals an agenda. He tweeted the now-infamous quote that “civil war is inevitable” in the UK after the sixth day of unrest on British streets, marked by scenes of violent disorder involving far-right mobs. This provocative statement further inflamed tensions and emotions.

No. 10 Downing Street publicly criticized Mr. Musk on Monday, stating, “There’s no justification for comments like that, and what we’ve seen in this country is organized violent thuggery that has no place on our streets or online”. He escalated the situation further by replying to a social media post from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who had condemned the attacks and violence against Muslims, with the comment, “Shouldn’t you be concerned about attacks on all communities?” Elon Musk was implying that Sir Keir Stamer was only concerned about protecting Muslims and not other communities, while ignoring that the main targets of the attacks and riots were immigrants, as well as the mosques, shops, community centres of the Muslim community.

He failed to acknowledge that a peaceful vigil on July 30th at the site of the attack was hijacked by a group of far-right protesters who threw bottles and stones at police vans and attacked the local Southport Mosque.

Riots broke out acros the UK after this incident, following similar anti-Muslim lines. Cynical and critical comments on social media, such as, “Oh look, no immigrants or Muslims among the mourners”, and “We have had enough. England for the English,” further added fuel to the fire.

Riots spread to Hartlepool, Manchester, Aldershot, Sunderland, Liverpool, Blackpool, Hull, Leeds, Preston, Stoke-on-Trent, Nottingham, Bristol, Middlesbrough, Rotherham, Tamworth, Solihull, Plymouth and Belfast in Northern Ireland.

Muslims and their mosques and shops were targeted, with even Muslim graves in Burnley being vandalized. Ostensibly for political reasons, the Islamophobia aspect is being downplayed by the press, with these attackers labeled as anti-immigrant protesters. Nonetheless, Muslims living in the UK feel they are being scapegoated in an incident that has nothing to do with them or their religion. Muslims are afraid to go out for fear of their lives. Areas with large white populations, especially in the lower class, have become no-go areas for Muslims.

Double Standards of Social Media Platforms

When it comes to far-right propaganda against issues like immigration and Islam, freedom of speech is often invoked as justification. However, Elon Musk and others are guilty of practicing double standards. Theworld is well aware that when it comes to criticism of Israel, its war in Gaza, and the killing of Palestinians, social media platforms like X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok meticulously censor accounts or actively reduce the reach of any pro-Palestine content, a practice known as shadow banning. Some users have also accused Instagram, owned by Meta, of arbitrarily taking down posts that simply mention Palestine for violating “community guidelines”.

Others have reported that their Instagram stories were hidden for sharing information about protests in support of Palestine. Some also complained about the word “terrorist” appearing in their Instagram biographies. The BBC reported that Meta apologised for adding the word “terrorist” to pro-Palestinian accounts, claiming that the issue, which “briefly caused inappropriate Arabic translations,” has been fixed. So much for freedom of speech, right?

UK’s Far-Right and the Connection with Zionist Organisations

Tommy Robinson has appeared at pro-Israel protests in London and has publicly declared himself a Zionist. In 2018, he was on trial, charged with contempt of court. A Guardian report from December 2018 revealed that the Middle East Forum (MEF), a pro-Israel think tank in the US, helped fund Robinson’s legal expenses. MEF publicly stated that they were proudly “helping Robinson in his moment of danger” by paying for his legal defense, “bringing foreign pressure on the UK government to ensure Mr. Robinson’s safety and eventual release,” and “organizing and funding” a rally in London.

The David Horowitz Freedom Center (DHFC), a California-based think tank that describes itself as a “school for political warfare,” has published a series of pieces defending Robinson and has lobbied for him to address US politicians. Its co-founder, after whom it was named, told the Guardian in an email: “Tommy Robinson is a courageous Englishman who has risked his life to expose the rape epidemic of young girls conducted by Muslim gangs and covered up by your shameful government.” It is clear that Zionists believe that by supporting UK far-right extremists, they can undermine the position of the Muslim community in the UK and stir tension between various communities.

Conclusions

1. Farright extremists have been given an open platform to spread their racist, anti-immigration, and anti-Islamic views. Much of their anger is directed at Muslims, mosques and properties, often highlightingfictitious claims of Muslims engaging in sex crimes, jobs loss due to immigration, and churches being taken over by Muslims, among othernarratives. These ideas are displayed on social media to incite public anger and hatred without any form of censorship by platform developers
2. There is evidence that these far-right groups are being funded by Zionists organizations that use them to attack Muslims and pro-Palestine protesters
3. Social media platforms apply the strictest forms of censorship (without the need for government intervention) on any content even mildly critical of Israel, yet they invoke freedom of speech to justify allowing extreme posts by far-right groups and individual hate speechagainst Muslims and immigration in the UK. This double standard is characteristic of social media platforms today and needs to be addressed
4. The British government is reeling from the damage done to public order, with its image of multiculturalism and societal harmony in tatters, juxtaposed against the material damage to public property. The far righ has shown that when given space in the virtual media, it caninfluence a substantial minority of British citizens to go out and damage mosques, attack Muslims and their possessions, and even confront the police trying to restore order – all in the name of “reclaiming England from the Muslims”.
5. Muslims worldwide are familiar with this double standard on social media platforms and have long sought restitution and reform of theethics and policies governing these platforms. Now, the UK government is itself discovering the true cost of allowing social media platforms carte blanche in self-regulating their content and the consequences of failing to censor far-right extremists from spreadinghate and lies. The very fabric of British society is being torn apart due to the irresponsible actions and inaction by social media platforms thatactively facilitate, promote, and even support this propaganda.
6. The late Conservative politician Enoch Powell, in his infamous 1968“Rivers of Blood” speech, predicted that immigrants would not integrate with British society and would cause bloodshed. Far-right extremists today are using pliant social media to make that prediction come true. The riots are a foreboding sign in this direction unless immediate action is taken. The British government must therefore summon the courage to rein in the miscreants and take action againstsocial media platforms and individuals like Elon Musk to restore public order and confidence among the communities most affected.
Dr Awaluddin Mohamed Shaharoun
Penasihat
Hal Ehwal Antarabangsa
Pejabat Presiden IKRAM

3 Tahun PTI Tidak Dapat Dilangsungkan, Kini Tiba Masanya…

Ingin mengikuti pandangan semasa dan info terkini dari IKRAM?
Hantar maklumat anda kepada kami:

ARTIKEL TERKINI