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.

Also I can’t stop laughing that you said Bordon is a touristy place 🤣🤯🙈🙌🏼

Some of them. By no means the majority of them. Decent people don't feel a need to hide behind keyboards or threaten mob violence. Most decent people don't make up lies to promote racial hatred. And beyond affirming my confidence that most of the public are decent and law-abiding I won't be responding to you further, because I see you.

That Facebook for you these people write the narrative to suit themselves and then people go mental BUT I rEAD IT ON FACEBOOK so it the gospel truth crowd jump in this crowd is usually of low intelligence stay at home yummy mummies bored housewives and other unemployed who are all bored with life and looking some action and excitement in their day you no the ones who brought all the loo roll lol

We had something very similar in my home town’s facebook page. A woman claiming that her child was nearly taken by a refugee. Then comments from others about awful things that had happened to them at the hands of refugees.

When a person, who monitors far right accounts, looked into it, it turned out that the original poster and a group of others had joined the Facebook page that day. They were known far right online agitators that had joined multiple community groups posting similar stories.

Scary stuff.

Admittedly, it’s been a long day, but I read your response and thought: “her dog wears trainers???!”

🫢

As my posts have been deleted, I can live with that.

What have I exaggerated or lied about?

The mum said:

1. He was a local Afghan refugee
2. That he had been in the park watching her child
3. That he had picked up her child and was walking off
4. That her sister had gone after to get the child
5. That the sister asked him several times to put the child down
6. He eventually did
7. She'd called the police.

The mum didn't mention:

1. He was in the park with his own children
2. Her child asked to be picked up

It turns out from the police, the dad and Andy Tree:

1. She didn't call the police.
2. He wasn't walking off with the child.
3. He wasn't local or Afghan or a refugee.

Comments on the original post and the other ones where people identified him and were sharing his location included "who fancies a kick about with a human football" and "what time's kick off?" and "reckon would only be a short game though" and "record it too I need something to watch".

None of that is an exaggeration, is it? That is all fact.

"The ones who bought all the loo roll" 🤣

There somebody goes round with a van with jimll fix it on it, he's a handyman by the look of it.

I've seen it in various locations.
It struck me as strange that a man would want to call himself and his business after a peaedophile?

AIBU to think.iys a creepy name to give your business.
Also would you comment if he worked for you?

I rem some girl got offended because we were joking that we were buying loo roll before it was trendy and we didn't need social media to tell us to do this lol

Wrong thread sorry.

This thread is proving my point - even after he was determined not to have committed any crime and even after it was proven that the mum lied, people from the page still believe it.

You're absolutely spot on.

Look at this lot, being wound up by an actual MP who can't tell the difference between charity rowers and migrant vessels.

https://bsky.app/profile/bickerrecord.bsky.social/post/3lvv7cbukg22w

@FromanEmpire don't get into it. The truth or reasoning isn't going to work here.

Social Media is a place where it is actually worse to imply or suggest racism than it is to be an actual racist. Mumsnet looks like it is going the same way sadly.

Two weeks ago we had two occasions of a man jumping out on and following teenage girls. He was described as Eastern European and speaking broken English. A protest march was quickly arranged at the town hall and police station by a vigilante group. The morning of the march the police released a name and picture of the offender (who is in custody), English name and born and bred in the town. Still had a protest march - the council had to close early as they were threatening some staff and no one seemed to have informed the protesters that he was English. There was plenty of "stop the boats" protesting going on. Idiots.

Look at that we idiot from bury st Edmunds used Facebook to make serious false accusations for go find me money people still believe that poor excuse of a human

There are lots and lots of posters all over social media now, whipping things up. Where are they coming from? Who is organising them?

Facebook is an absolute cesspit these days. I used it a lot in the past and still find it very useful to keep up with what international friends are doing and as a local noticeboard. But you have to wade through a sea of crap, algorithmically generated ads, AI content and polarising, bigoted local handwringing to see anything from anyone you know.

Getting very close to deleting it.

If he was determined to have not committed a crime why did the police say “We've now spoken to the parent and their child as well as the man involved, who was given strong words of advice around the incident.” Why would the man need strong words of advice around the incident if he was innocent?

Hello everyone,
We are getting a lot of reports about this thread, specifically about the troll hunting which we take a very dim view of. So could we ask that you please stop. Those who persist may have their accounts suspended which we would rather avoid.
MNHQ

There any number of ignorant shit stirrers out there. Drama queens and pearl clutchers. It's sad that people have a go at others who can't defend themselves.

It's completely obvious to anyone capable of thought that far right trolls have been set loose to provoke the hard of thinking into joining civil disorder planned for later in the year and to do so by signing up to local FB groups, all with similar 'local' stories to thrill you with, appealing to some of your most base instincts. You're just being warmed up suckers. You should be embarassed for being treated like fools-, but no, you want to brag about it.

Strong words of advice could include "people are racist around here, stay away from everyone" or "stay safe buddy" or "even if a child asks you to pick them up, just say no".

It's said by police to make people with little critical thinking ability believe that he's been "told off" so they don't riot when the police take no action against the man who did nothing wrong.