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 that found the video had been manipulated. Qasim Mughal, a Dudley Labour councillor and friend of the teacher who had been campaigning alongside her at the time the comments were filmed, has strongly denied she used the language.
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 taught. The post went viral on TikTok and WhatsApp, where it is especially difficult to stop the spread of content.
Yakoob, a solicitor who intends 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. “All complaints of Islamophobia are taken incredibly seriously, and we immediately began investigating this allegation,” a spokesperson said.
“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. It is disappointing and irresponsible for an unsuccessful candidate in a recent election to share a manipulated digital asset in an attempt to undermine a successful Labour campaign.”
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 had voted for Yakoob. The subtitles in the video suggest she utters the racist slur as she walks away.
Mughal told Birmingham Live 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. The analysis found that was anomalous, as the woman was further away when those comments were made. It found the subtitles were not correct and the alleged language was not used.
It is understood the teacher is not a Labour member and was not aware of any of the names of other candidates running for election. Mughal said she was a volunteer helping him with his campaign.
He said: “It is concerning that Akhmed Yakoob 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. People in the West Midlands, and across the whole country, deserve better than this from candidates running to represent them.
“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.”
Labour politicians have condemned the use of the video. Mary Creagh, a former Labour MP who is standing in Coventry East at the next election, said: “The failed independent candidate for West Midlands mayor has spread disinformation and caused deep distress to a local teacher.”
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.
Stuart Bathurst Catholic High school, where the woman works, said it hoped to be able to say more on Wednesday. “We have today worked with numerous authorities as part of our investigation and that includes the police to support their investigation,” it said.
“It has been very distressing for all concerned, as I’m sure you all can appreciate. Once again, we would like to thank those people who have sent in supportive messages to the school. On the advice of our legal team, we have to wait for further formal notifications before sharing any more information.”