Persistent Online Hate Campaigns Against British Muslims on Social Media Platform Remain Unchecked
International X accounts, accused of igniting 2024 riots, persistently aim hostile actions towards UK Muslims
A series of online hate campaigns against prominent British Muslims have continued unabated on the X platform, despite prior incidents and official scrutiny. The continued operation of accounts such as End Wokeness, which has been identified as a key player in spreading disinformation, has raised concerns about the effectiveness of the UK's Online Safety Act in combating online hate.
The Online Safety Act, introduced in October 2023, gives tech companies a duty to take down illegal content, such as posts inciting violence, and to stop it from appearing in the first place. It also empowers Ofcom, the UK's online safety regulator, to fine platforms up to £18 million or 10% of their qualifying global revenue, whichever is greater, if they fail to comply with their duties.
However, despite these measures, End Wokeness has faced no penalty for its disinformation activities. The account has been linked to the spread of false claims about the identity of the Southport attacker, which targeted prominent British Muslims and elicited apparent calls for Islamophobic violence from followers.
In addition, Hyphen found that End Wokeness has failed to remove a post that appears to incite people to "rise up" and "shoot" Keir Starmer, despite X's promise to look into it. End Wokeness has also targeted other prominent British Muslims, including Sir Hamid Patel and Mohammed Asaduzzaman, making posts that were followed by multiple apparent calls for violence against Muslims.
The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee (SITC) has found the Online Safety Act to be "woefully inadequate" as it does not include measures to counter the algorithmic amplification of legal but harmful content. The SITC has also expressed concern over X's inaction and suggested that Ofcom should intervene if necessary.
Ofcom insists it is "closely scrutinizing" whether tech companies are complying with their duties by taking down illegal content that is flagged. However, the SITC's report on last summer's riots identified End Wokeness's post at 7.25pm on 29 July as a key event in the spread of misinformation and "harmful algorithms" that contributed to the riots.
Former equalities minister Anneliese Dodds warned of "major regulatory gaps" in how Britain tackles online harm, citing the continued operation of End Wokeness as an example. The chair of the SITC, Dame Chi Onwurah, expressed concern about a post on X that called for violence and made a direct threat to the prime minister, which has not been taken down and no community notes have been attached to it.
Amnesty International's analysis highlights that despite the Online Safety Act being in place, X continues to allow the rapid spread of harmful misinformation and incitement against Muslims and migrants, acting as a "staggering amplification of hate" during and after the 2024 riots. Experts and officials note that X has not taken sufficient action to remove hate-driven accounts or curb Islamophobic content effectively.
In response, the UK government appointed the British Muslim Trust to independently monitor anti-Muslim hate crimes, engage communities, and publish robust data and analysis aimed at tackling Islamophobia and hate online and offline. However, critiques exist about governmental handling of Islamophobia definitions and engagement processes, highlighting concerns that credible Muslim voices have been excluded in policy formation aimed at addressing Islamophobia.
This situation illustrates significant accountability gaps in social media platform governance, where despite public and governmental concern, disinformation and calls for violence targeting British Muslims persist on X with insufficient preventative measures.
- The continued operation of End Wokeness on social media platform X, despite spreading disinformation and inciting violence, raises questions about the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act in addressing hate speech, notably in the context of politics and general news.
- Amidst concerns about the rise of crime and justice-related incidents incited by End Wokeness, it is crucial for authorities to examine the role of algorithms in amplifying harmful content and to take decisive actions in removing such accounts or curbing Islamophobic content from X.
