The following article is a comment piece from Muslim Greens on Mothin Ali, the so-called ‘Hero of Harehills’ who intervened during the 2024 riots there but was then subject to racism by the far-right, which also pushed disinformation that he was involved
The billionaire class – like Elon Musk – will stop at nothing to protect their interests, often exploiting figures like Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (commonly known as Tommy Robinson) to further their divisive agendas.
Elon Musk: sharing racist disinformation about Mothin Ali
A video about paedophile rings was uploaded to X by Tommy Robinson on 3 January 2025. It features a clip of Green Party Councillor Mothin Ali, who has no association with these horrendous crimes. Retweeted by Elon Musk, the video has amassed over 31 million views, 306,000 likes, and 70,000 shares to date:
Tommy Robinson shared a video about paedophile gangs and vindictively used an image of Green Cllr @MothinAli
Amplified by Elon Musk, the video hit 33M views, spreading hate and lies. Mothin has no association with these crimes. He is #HeroOfHarehills
We & @GreensOfColour stand… pic.twitter.com/FX0xBeguMB
— Muslim Greens (@muslim_greens) January 6, 2025
The video is both factually incorrect and designed to inflame tensions and stoke racial hatred. We have seen the devastating impact of such rhetoric as recently as this summer when racist riots led to violent attacks on individuals based solely on their ethnicity.
By promoting these harmful narratives, individuals like Musk, Robinson, and Nigel Farage scapegoat British Muslims and Asians, endangering their safety and fostering a climate of hostility and division.
Targeting our councillor is defamatory to him personally, his community, and the Green Party. Such actions are irresponsible, harmful and undermine the values of equality, fairness and respect that should define our society.
Issues such as grooming and sexual violence require serious, evidence-based solutions, not racist scapegoating. The 2020 Home Office report showed the largest group of \offenders are white, and no ethnicity is disproportionately represented. Facts matter. Hate does not solve problems.
We demand the immediate removal of this video by Elon Musk and Tommy Robinson and call on both to issue public apologies across all platforms where the content was shared.
We urge British political leaders to unequivocally condemn these divisive acts and stand in solidarity with all British people, including Muslims.
We stand firmly behind Councillor Mothin Ali and take pride in his outstanding contributions to his ward and the Green Party. His dedication to fostering inclusivity and improving the lives of his constituents exemplifies the values we hold dear.
Featured image via the Canary
