The Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH) invites you to join us for a virtual discussion on our latest report, “Racialized Grooming Gangs: Elon Musk, X, and Amplification of Islamophobia in the UK.” In this hour-long event, we will examine how X (formerly Twitter), Elon Musk’s posts, and coordinated global far-right networks converged to turn the “grooming gangs” narrative into a flashpoint of racialized panic and Islamophobia across the UK.
Our panelists from diverse backgrounds will explore the astonishing reach of these narratives, measured in billions of engagements, and the real-world toll they have taken on British Muslim and South Asian communities, eroding social cohesion and undermining public trust in democratic institutions. We will also examine the broader policy ramifications including the glaring failure by X to meet its obligations under the UK’s Online Safety Act.
Panelists
Richard Wilson
Richard Wilson is the Director and co-founder of Stop Funding Hate. Launched in 2016, the campaign works to promote a fairer media by mobilising consumers to ask advertisers to avoid funding outlets and platforms that fuel hate and misinformation.
Britain’s Fox News-style TV station GB News has reportedly lost over £100 million as major advertisers steer clear following engagement by Stop Funding Hate supporters. GB News presenters – including Nigel Farage – have repeatedly acknowledged the campaign’s impact on the channel. While there’s still a long way to go, Stop Funding Hate has been credited by the Guardian with bringing about “more change at… news outlets by targeting their advertisers than the press regulator IPSO”.
Mobashra Tazamal
Mobashra Tazamal is the Associate Director of The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University. She specializes in the impact of the War on Terror discourse and state-sponsored Islamophobia worldwide. As an expert in the field, she serves as a key resource for educators and journalists, with her analysis cited in major global outlets such as The New York Times, NBC, Salon, The Washington Post, and Al Jazeera. In addition to producing reports and articles for Bridge, her work has been featured in Politico, The Independent, Al Jazeera, Middle East Eye, Truthout, The New Arab, and Byline Times. She holds a Master’s degree from SOAS, University of London, and has a background in human rights advocacy and immigration law.
Aidan O’Brien
Aidan O’Brien is a Digital Policy Consultant. He previously worked at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right and the Ombudsman for Children’s Office in Ireland. His research focuses on online harassment and abuse, as well as European election integrity and security. He holds an MA in Digital Policy from University College Dublin.
Moderator
Dr. Amina Easat-Daas
Dr. Amina Easat-Daas is a Senior Lecturer in Politics at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. Her recent publications include the co-edited Palgrave Handbook of Gendered Islamophobia (2024) her monograph Muslim Women’s Political Participation in France and Belgium (2020) and the edited volume Countering Islamophobia in Europe (2019). Dr Easat-Daas’ wider research interests include the study of UK, French and Belgian politics, decolonising politics, Islam and Muslimness in the UK, France and Belgium, gendered Islamophobia and countering Islamophobia in Europe.
