X has been accused of allowing racist abuse to proliferate on its platform after refusing to take down dozens of posts targeting prominent UK politicians, including Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, Labour's Shabana Mahmood, and Reform UK's Zia Yusuf.
British Future Reports Reveal Widespread Inaction
In May, the thinktank British Future reported 30 posts from this year in which Badenoch was called the N-word. Despite using X's "hate, abuse or harassment" reporting option, the platform refused to act in the majority of cases, even after repeated requests.
The Guardian understands that X routinely only takes action when posts are reported as illegal under the UK's Online Safety Act. In those instances, visibility is restricted in the UK but the posts remain accessible elsewhere.
Researchers Highlight Flawed Reporting System
Avaes Mohammad, a researcher with British Future's British South Asian Bridgers cohesion project, said: "Many people will intuitively report racist posts as 'hate, abuse or harassment' – but it seems X doesn't consider it as hate. Our research found that it was only when a post is described as illegal, which they can't dispute, that they will consider taking it down."
X eventually restricted visibility for just two of the 30 messages targeting Badenoch, and only after Sunder Katwala, director of British Future, emailed the platform, stating he should not be expected to fill out an "onerous" form for each illegal report.
Online Safety Act Obligations
The Online Safety Act, being phased in by Ofcom, requires platforms to remove illegal content, including racially or religiously aggravated offenses. On 15 May, British Future reported 33 uses of the P-word targeting UK public figures, including Reform UK's Zia Yusuf, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, former SNP leader Humza Yousaf, and others.
Forty-eight hours later, none of the 33 posts had been removed. X advised British Future to report posts using the "UK illegal content" option, stating that reports through other channels are handled under general policies and do not count toward expedited review targets under the Online Safety Act.
Limited Action After Ofcom Involvement
X eventually restricted 20 of the tweets within the UK after being contacted by Ofcom, but took no action against the rest. Among the untouched messages was a picture of a noose tweeted to Zarah Sultana, using the P-word and telling her to "fuck off."
On 26 May, British Future reported another nine posts using the P-word against British Asian public figures. X failed to act in six cases because they were reported as "hate, abuse or harassment," but acted when reported as illegal in the remaining three.
Account Holders Unpunished
None of the account holders behind the offensive tweets have been suspended, including one who used the N-word 45 times in a week. British Future says the platform's approach means racists can operate with impunity on X.
Mohammad added: "The accounts we are reporting are often replete with mentions of Reform and Restore. In May, the N-word racist slur was used about Kemi Badenoch an average of once a day. But on 2 June, after Badenoch responded to Nigel Farage's speech about Henry Nowak, there were 16 examples in a day – pointing to how much far-right political sentiment is driving the hate on X."
Ofcom's Response
Ofcom condemned racism "in all its forms," stating its role is to ensure sites have appropriate measures to comply with duties, not to dictate what to take down. The regulator noted X committed to reviewing UK suspected illegal terrorist and hate content within an average of 24 hours, with quarterly reviews of performance.
X did not respond to requests for comment.
