The regulator Ofcom will soon be given the power to protect people from harmful online content including violence, cyber-bullying, child abuse, and terrorism but it is unconfirmed what strategies will be put in place to fight Islamophobia, racism, xenophobia and homophobia.
Katie Hopkins’ Twitter Account Reinstated Despite Islamophobic and Racist Tweets
The regulator Ofcom will soon be given the power to protect people from harmful online content including violence, cyber-bullying, child abuse, and terrorism but it is unconfirmed what strategies will be put in place to fight Islamophobia, racism, xenophobia and homophobia.
At the end of January 2020, Katie Hopkins’ Twitter account had been suspended on Twitter for her Islamophobic, anti-immigrant, and racist rants.
With over a million followers on social media, the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) liaised with Twitter about Hopkins’ “ability to use the platform to spread hate”, and she was found to have violated Twitter’s hateful conduct policy. A Twitter spokesman said: “Keeping Twitter safe is a top priority for us – abuse and harassment have no place on the service.” Despite this, however, her account has been activated again, after only one week with most of the offensive tweets deleted.
In May 2017, Hopkins lost her LBC show when she called for a “final solution” in the wake of the Manchester bombing. The “final solution” is the Nazi term for the Holocaust – which many interpreted to mean that she was advocating the killing of Muslims. On Twitter Hopkins refers to London as ‘Londonistan.’ Under the leadership of Mayor Sadiq Khan, Hopkins also believes that London has been infected by radical Muslims. The list which contributed to Hopkins Twitter suspension goes on.
The other issue that is important to address is: Why is Hopkins given so many media platforms to spout hatred in the first place? Is it to create controversy and attention? Many might argue that she is entitled to freedom of speech. And it is the audience’s moral duty to counteract that. But the vast majority of her comments are dangerous, inciting further hatred and abuse towards Muslims and other people from marginalised communities. These are not purely expressions of political opinions.
On Saturday 15th February, Mark Zuckerberg spoke at the Munich Security Conference in Germany. He said that the social media companies need more guidance and regulation from governments to tackle harmful online content:
“In the absence of that kind of regulation, we will continue doing our best, we are going to build up the muscle to do it, to basically find stuff as proactively as possible…I want us to be a force for bringing people closer together.”
In the UK, there needs to be a regulatory body to successfully police social media platforms. The regulator Ofcom will soon be given the power to protect people from harmful online content including violence, cyber-bullying, child abuse, and terrorism but it is unconfirmed what strategies will be put in place to fight Islamophobia, racism, xenophobia and homophobia.
Ofcom’s interim Chief Executive Jonathan Oxley stated:
“We share the Government’s ambition to keep people safe online and welcome that it is minded to appoint Ofcom as the online harms regulator. We will work with the Government to help ensure that regulation provides effective protection for people online and, if appointed, will consider what voluntary steps can be taken in advance of legislation.’’
The Muslim Vibe urges everyone to remember that social media is an important platform to highlight important issues, and it is healthy to debate in a way to co-exist peacefully. Your opinions, however, should not be at the expense of another person’s feelings by belittling, mocking or bullying an individual’s race, sexuality, religion or nationality.
As the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) stated, “ Kindess is a mark of faith, and whoever is not kind has no faith.”
To report Islamophobia, please contact the relevant social media platform and these organisations below:
