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Viral hate campaign targeted Dudley teacher after fake racist video
shared
(HTM) Source
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A teacher was subject to a viral hate campaign after a manipulated
video of her campaigning for Labour falsely implied she had used
racist language.
The video, taken on a Ring doorbell in Dudley, used subtitles to
suggest the woman had used a slur against Pakistani people. It went
viral on social media and was promoted by Akhmed Yakoob, the
independent candidate who came third in the West Midlands mayoral
elections.
Labour said it had employed an external digital forensics company,
which found the video had been manipulated. Qasim Mughal, a Dudley
Labour councillor who is a friend of the teacher and had been
campaigning alongside her at the time the comments were filmed, has
strongly denied the teacher used the language. Police have examined
the video and found no evidence of abuse.
Yakoob promoted the video on TikTok and X, where he has hundreds of
thousands of followers, including a follow-up video that included the
woman's name and the school where she teaches. The post went viral on
TikTok and WhatsApp, where it is especially difficult to stop the
spread of content.
Viral video falsely accuses teacher of using racial slur - video
Yakoob, a solicitor who plans to run for parliament at the next
election, told Birmingham Live he had not intended to cause distress,
and the video was difficult to hear. At the time of writing it was
still live on his Instagram stories.
Labour said the manipulated video was deeply concerning. "Manipulated
digital assets pose a threat to the community cohesion we work hard to
foster, as well as to the integrity of the democratic process," the
party said.
The analysis of the video, which examined the waveforms and audio
playback speeds, suggested there had been changes to the volume in the
second section of the video where the alleged racist comments were
made.
The woman is seen to go to a door and ask the resident whether they
had voted for Labour, to which the resident replies that he voted for
Yakoob. The subtitles in the video suggest she utters the racist slur
as she walks away.
Mughal said the woman had been saying she did not understand the
resident's reply, and then began reading out the house number for the
next door knock.
Forensic analysis found that the volume of the alleged racist comments
was discernibly louder than the question "who did he vote for?" asked
by the other male canvasser in the video, which suggested it had been
altered. It found the subtitles were not correct and the alleged
language was not used.
Mughal said he first knew about the viral video when his friend and
colleague, who is not a party member and had been helping him canvass
for the first time, called him in "flood of tears thinking her life
was over".
"This could have been career-ending. And it will still have many
repercussions for her emotional state. This will be a long process for
her," he said. "It doesn't even make sense from a logical perspective
- she was campaigning for myself, a Pakistani-heritage candidate. To
come out and say those words when I'm right there just wouldn't make
any sense."
He added: "This could have happened to absolutely anyone. And I do
worry that it will have an impact on people wanting to come out and
campaign in future."
He said he does not think the audio sounds like the words being
alleged but that a degree of confirmation bias led to people believing
it. "If someone tells you you're going to hear something,
automatically your brain is looking out for that. And that's exactly
what happened in this video," he said.
Mughal said Yakoob should put out a public statement apologising for
sharing the video and making sure his followers understand that the
subtitles were incorrect.
"If he has any ounce of remorse for what he's done, he needs to own
it. He needs to apologise and say he got this wrong," said Mughal.
"The allegations made are categorically untrue, and we cannot forget
there is a person at the centre of this who is facing real-life
consequences for Yakoob's actions."He said: "It is concerning that he
was a candidate running for public office just a few days ago and has
now shared false information on social media which has led to death
threats and hate speech."
Labour politicians have condemned the use of the video.
Jim McMahon, the shadow levelling up minister, said: "More toxicity,
more smears, another innocent campaigner targeted and harassed. Now
pretty routine in British politics. Grim."
Yakoob has been contacted for comment. A Labour source said: "That
Akhmed Yakoob thinks he can lead a pile-on on an innocent woman and
remain a parliamentary candidate speaks volumes about how unsuitable
he is to be a public representative."
Stuart Bathurst Catholic High school, where the woman works, said the
incident was "very distressing for all concerned."
A spokesperson for West Midlands police said it had obtained the
original audio and examined it. "We have found no evidence of any
racist slurs or language used. The canvasser has received significant
abuse as a result of the footage being released on social media, which
is distressing. She has been fully updated regarding our findings and
offered our support."
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