Foreign X accounts continuing to single out UK Muslims, stirring unrest in 2024 upheavals overseas
In the digital realm of X, an account known as "End Wokeness" continues its operations, unscathed by penalties despite being identified by UK Members of Parliament as a significant contributor to the spread of disinformation and Islamophobia leading up to the 2024 violence targeting Muslims.
With over 3.8 million followers, this account has faced no repercussions for its disinformation activities. MPs have quizzed the platform about a post that called for violence and made a direct threat against the UK Prime Minister. However, the post remains live without any warning labels, five months after a promise from platform representatives to review it.
The UK’s Online Safety Act, which came into effect in October 2023, mandates tech companies to remove illegal content, including posts inciting religiously aggravated violence. Yet, as of late July 2025, the regulatory body, Ofcom, has not intervened nor imposed any fines on X related to the conduct of "End Wokeness".
Ofcom insists it is "closely scrutinizing" whether tech companies are complying with their duties by taking down illegal content that is flagged. However, concerns have been raised that the legislation is "woefully inadequate" and does not include measures to counter the algorithmic amplification of legal but harmful content.
Another overseas account, Radio Genoa, has built up 1.4 million followers on X by publishing anti-migrant and anti-Muslim content. Last summer, Radio Genoa's posts on the Southport stabbings and riots racked up at least 11 million views.
The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee (SITC) published a report on how misinformation and "harmful algorithms" had helped fuel last summer's riots, with a timeline that identifies End Wokeness's post at 7.25pm on 29 July as a key event.
The SITC also suggests that End Wokeness may have been first to share a decontextualised clip of Rotherham's first female Muslim mayor, Rukhsana Ismail, sparking false claims about her language abilities. False claims about Mayor Ismail spread across three continents, gaining the most traction in the US, followed by the UK and India.
When approached for comment, End Wokeness, Radio Genoa, the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, and X did not respond.
The potential for fines or increased powers for Ofcom could set the Starmer government on a collision course with Donald Trump's administration, as US state department officials have reportedly challenged Ofcom over the impact of online safety laws. Vice President JD Vance has also criticised their impact on American technology companies.
Ofcom, however, maintains that its role is to ensure sites have "appropriate systems and processes" to comply with the legislation, not to tell them "which posts to take down".
This ongoing situation raises questions about the effectiveness of current regulations in combating disinformation and hate speech on social media platforms, and the need for more robust measures to protect vulnerable communities.
- Despite being identified as a significant spreader of disinformation and Islamophobia, the account "End Wokeness" continues to operate on platform X with no repercussions, as the UK's Online Safety Act does not seem to effectively counter the algorithmic amplification of legal but harmful content.
- Meanwhile, the general-news landscape on X is marked by the presence of Radio Genoa, an account that has built up a substantial following by publishing anti-migrant and anti-Muslim content, with the potential for fines or increased powers for Ofcom highlighting a potential political-news controversy between the Starmer government and the Trump administration over the impact of online safety laws.
