Anti-immigrant vigilantes are breaking the law and getting away with it

Anti-immigrant vigilantes are breaking the law and getting away with it. Hope and Courage Collective (H&CC) carried out research to discover the extent and reach of this unchallenged intimidation and violence being shared and amplified online.

Over six weeks from July 31st to September 10th 2024, we examined content from four high-profile social media user accounts on YouTube and X/Twitter. These user accounts repeatedly shared images and videos of the aggressive targeting of people seeking asylum. Some of these accounts are sharing their own footage and some accounts are uploading and promoting videos taken by others. Two user accounts are on X/Twitter, with one of these reinstated under Elon Musk’s ownership of the platform, having previously been banned for hateful conduct. Two user accounts are on YouTube.* 

What we found has shocked us. 

There were thirty-nine separate posts of incidents of videos and images ‘likely to lead members of the public to identify a person as an applicant’. 

These thirty-nine posts have already amassed 14.5 million views. 

One X user accounted for 11.8 million views or 81% of all views of this illegal content targeting people seeking asylum.

This X account was reinstated by Elon Musk, having previously been banned for hateful behaviour. 

The lack of any consequences for those involved is emboldening more and more copycat acts of intimidation and violence.

Online harassment and real-world attacks:

Hope and Courage Collective has repeatedly spoken about the direct link between online harassment, real-world attacks and increased violence towards people seeking asylum in our communities. Nowhere is this more visible than in the numerous recent and ongoing incidents of people filming themselves harassing and intimidating people who are living in emergency accommodation centres  

Increasingly we are also seeing people who are in even more precarious and vulnerable situations, such as those living in tents due to the state’s failure to provide basic emergency accommodation, are being consistently targeted by anti-immigrant vigilantes. 

We all deserve to feel safe and to walk down the street, free from fear and harassment, no matter where we come from or what we look like. That is just a basic human dignity and respect. These acts make our communities unsafe for everyone

The law: 

The International Protection Act 2015  means people seeking asylum have the legal right to have their anonymity protected. Under section 26 of the International Protection Act 2015 it is illegal to film a person seeking asylum and post it online in a way likely to reveal their identity if you have done this without their consent. This legal protection is a common sense step to ensure people fleeing persecution are not put at risk by being identified publicly. 

Section 26 sets out that ‘A person shall not, without the consent of the applicant, publish in a written publication available to the public or broadcast, or cause to be so published or broadcast, information likely to lead members of the public to identify a person as an applicant.’ (source). 

What needs to be done: 

Social media and video platforms are recommending illegal, hateful and violent content for people to see. Social media platforms’ business model prioritises emotionally manipulative content through recommender systems that drive sharing and engagement, heighten tensions, and in this case, break laws. It rewards emotional engagement over truthfulness, rage over accuracy and promotes fear and hate over respect and care. 

The Hope and Courage Collective has identified some immediate and long-term solutions to ensure  social media spaces that are safe for all who use them.

Social media companies need to act rapidly to remove illegal and harmful content.

To help stop the spread of hate, platforms must turn the toxic engagement-based recommender systems off by default.

Our politicians must act to turn off the online hate megaphone. We are calling for a public inquiry into the harms caused by social media platforms and their impact on democracy, people, and our communities.

*Since our research was published one of these user’s accounts was removed from YouTube.