Influential actors, journalists, politicians and celebrities have started a 48-hour boycott of Twitter to protest its handling of anti-Semitic tweets from the account of grime artist Wiley.
Using the hashtag #NoSafeSpaceForJewHate, campaigners have accused Twitter of “ignoring anti-Semitism” after offensive remarks on Wiley’s account were still visible 12 hours after they were first posted.
Among those ditching the social media platform from 9am on Monday were Countdown’s Rachel Riley, singer Jessie Ware, Reverend Richard Coles and journalist James O’Brien.
Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said he would take part in the protest, having already written to bosses at Twitter and Facebook to tell them: “Your inaction amounts to complicity.”
A number of MPs from across parliament have also joined the boycott, including Labour’s David Lammy and Jess Phillips, Tory MP Chris Clarkson and Lib Dem leadership hopeful Layla Moran.
On Sunday, home secretary Priti Patel revealed she had written to Twitter and Instagram demanding a “full explanation” about why “abhorrent” anti-Semitic posts were allowed to remain online for so long.
Wiley, whose real name is Richard Cowie, has been given a seven day ban from both Twitter and Instagram, PA Media reported, while some posts have been deleted from his accounts.
Twitter has yet to respond to HuffPost UK’s requests for comment. However, the social media platform has previously said that “abuse and harassment” have “no place” on its service and that it takes enforcement action over accounts which violate its rules addressing hateful conduct.
The Met Police is also investigating the anti-Semitic posts, with a spokesperson saying that the “relevant material is being assessed”.
The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism has called on the Cabinet Office to strip 41-year-old Wiley, who is an MBE, of the honour he was given in 2018.
In a letter to officials the group accused Wiley of bringing the honours system into “disrepute”, calling for him to be “stripped of his honour”.
