Racist vigilantes on local FB page

[FromanEmpire]

I live in a small town with a military history. As such, we have had quite a few Afghan refugees settled here.

A few days ago, a woman posted to say that an Afghan refugee had been in the park and walking around watching her toddler. She turned away to feed her other child, and when she turned back, he was holding her toddler and walking off. She asked her sister who was with her to go and get the toddler back. Then, apparently, he said no to the sister several times and said he was taking the toddler home with him. Eventually, the toddler was returned.

Cue extensive outrage all over the Facebook page. Comments calling for riots and violence, comments locating the man involved, comments getting a few men together for a game of "human football"... Obviously people asked why she hadn't called the police and she said she had but they weren't interested.

Anyway, then there are posts of the man in different locations and people threatening to go after him.

Then, it turns out, the woman has partly lied and partly told half-truths about the whole things. Firstly, not a local Afghan refugee at all. Not local, on holiday. Not Afghan, police confirmed he's not Afghan but didn't say what he is. Not a refugee, here on holiday (we live in a touristy place). Police also confirmed it wasn't reported to them until the evening - and also that the report was made by a man. So, she didn't report to the police - just to Facebook.

It also turns out, the man was in the park with his own children (she made it sound like he was there alone) and that the toddler approached him, while the mum wasn't paying any attention, and asked to be picked up. And, of course, very strange that if a man were walking off with your toddler, you'd just ask him nicely to put them down...

Frankly, I feel really uncomfortable by this. This woman has blatantly lied and misled people to try and rile up a riot. I'm also scared by how many people were commenting incredibly racist things and calling for violence against (what turned out to be) an entirely innocent man. I'm really shocked, and I like where I live less now.

My towns Facebook group asks for crime reference numbers for posts like this now. No reference and the post is deleted.

Might be worth suggesting this to the pages moderators.

I get you on that. I have Facebook - I use it to see what is happening locally and for a small number of businesses that use no other online presence. I have no personal information on it, I post nothing except the odd banal comment (like "what time is the opening"). But yes, we have had the "brown faced male" in the public space posts too. Oddly there is a white guy regularly fiddling with himself in that area, but it has never once been mentioned on the facebook page.

I've never posted on the page itself. Just observe and sometimes search for things (like window cleaners, most recently). But I was very tempted to post on this one and say something. Bottled it in the end though.

If she’s lying to stir something up (which it sounds like she was) then she’s despicable. Facebook has got worse, every article is absolutely rammed with racist or sexist comments, each with a ton of likes. It’s too useful for me to stop using it but it’s a barometer of the public mood sadly.

It's not just you op

There is one all over Twitter that a woman put up showing her black husband and his twin playing with her grandchildren in a park. They are white. Cue all the racists saying it is shocking. The grandmother posted the video as she said it was funny the way they were all falling over. Some nasty people about.

My local Next Door page is riddled with stuff like this. ETA I mean stuff as described in the OP.

Ah yeah, local facebook groups are something else aren’t they.

I was once the suspicious brown man hanging around the primary school at 15:20pm everyday, loads of comments including some saying they had definitely seen me at other primary schools in the area, which would be quite a feat as I was at my sons school everyday to collect him. The person who posted it didn’t even bother doing it annonymously, it made a change from her usual posts telling people to stop accusing her precious older son of stealing from shops, smashing car windows and attempting to break in to houses.

Yes! I had actually seen this on an advert on Facebook and was shocked a while ago. It was a National Rail advert where a black couple were going to (I think) Basingstoke or something - all the comments were racist comments about going back home or things like that. I couldn't believe what I was reading but just thought it was bots or fake accounts. When I saw that it was the same type of comments on this post from people that I know are genuine, it's really thrown me. I genuinely (naively and ignorantly I guess) just didn't think people were actually so racist in 2025.

So, once again, take that up with MNHQ.

I'm sorry that happened to you.

it’s a barometer of the public mood sadly.

I think it's more a barometer of keyboard cowards who feel that they are untouchable online.

You made the right decision. Sadly there is no point engaging with people like that, its a waste of your time and energy. They have a particular mind set and agenda.

I used to use Quora a lot, because I liked some of the very interesting subjects people wrote about; I used to actually learn things. This too has turned into an absolute cesspit of politically polarised trash, and shock posts about Ukraine, gaza or migrants. I've had to abandon it, its been utterly ruined.

So the public basically.

You have no idea if someone is a new poster or has just name changed though. If someone posts using a new name change they will have no visible posting history. I could change name now and start a goady thread and it would look like I’m a new user when I’m not

Like the rest of her ilk, a grain of truth and a bucketful of lies and exaggerations. Vile. And if she is out with a toddler, unnoticing that he/she is approaching strangers asking for attention, then she needs a parenthood class or two at the very least.

Did I miss the part, where the OP said she had changed names? I reported the thread for being goady. As I said, it's over to the mods now.

Ohhh they found you OP!!

Ok. The police, Andy Tree and the dad are all liars and the mum's post was true, then? Yeah?

Lots of people come on holiday here and nearby. It's why they wanted to convert the building by the Shed into a massive hotel! It's a national park!

Apologising for assuming they were an Afghan refugee after stating they're an Afghan refugee and have a massive go at anyone who asked how she knew is still lying about him being an Afghan refugee. And I haven't seen any apology.

He didn't try to kidnap anyone! That's what the police determined, that's what Andy Tree believes - and the dad admitted the child asked to be picked up!

I don't need to notify you when I NC... No one does. Sometimes people say, sometimes they don't. It's not a rule that you have to.

Proves that I'm not making it up, eh?

@Dangermoo Well, I have reported your goady troll-hunting posts AND changed my name (or have I?). Your comments seem to be being moderated now.

OP's concerns are valid and observable all over Facebook and other SM platforms.

People change their names for all sorts of reasons without declaring. It's actually a useful security function for some, not least to protect themselves from people like you.

And looks like from the last posts it's a bloody good thing she did.

Giveaway of what?!