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Disability hate on MN

9 replies

IClaudine · 02/05/2024 13:31

Hi MNHQ

Since Sunak’s announcement on disability benefits, there has been a big increase on MN in hostility towards people who receive then.

The abuse, hate and outright lies (my neighbour’s son’s cousin’s wife climbs Mount Everest but gets PIP etc) being spewed on MN towards disabled people, a group with protected characteristics, has been dreadful and very distressing for disabled people and their loved ones to read,

Please can you do something?

Here is a small selection of the threads where the disability benefit bashers have paid a visit and had a field day. There may be more, but I can’t face searching for them!

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5064828-to-be-terrified-about-pip?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share  

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5065470-people-who-work-have-anxiety-too?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5066670-aibu-to-hope-that-able-bodied-people-will-support-disabled-people-against-the-tory-attack-on-pip?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/money-matters/5064856-pip-vouchers-to-replace-money?reply=134966246&utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/money-matters/5066331-do-you-feel-bad-for-receiving-a-high-amount-of-uc?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share

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MNHQ

LilyMumsnet · 03/05/2024 14:36

Hi all

We just wanted to let you know that we’re reading all your posts and will take a look at the threads you’ve highlighted.

We expect to see an increase in threads about PIP because it’s in the news but please remember to report anything you think we should see, using the report button.

MNHQ

DawnMumsnet · 03/05/2024 14:59

IClaudine · 03/05/2024 11:24

Hi MNHQ - I do hope you are aware of this thread.

I had an idea of something very small and simple you could do.

When a benefits thread inevitably starts to go downhill and the usual "my neighbour’s son’s cousin’s wife climbs Mount Everest but gets PIP" lies start perhaps you could post a standard response in the way you do for certain other issues. Maybe something like:

"Just popping our heads around the door to remind people that the vast majority of benefit claimants are genuine. Remember that people in receipt of benefits may be reading this thread. Please keep the discussion factual and respectful."

Just to add, this is a good suggestion and we'll certainly discuss this and other ways in which we can be more proactive on threads to prevent them from being derailed.

We'll continue to work our way through the threads flagged in the opening post. We've already banned at least one poster who we felt was not here in good faith and we've also deleted a post (which has been referenced here), which on reflection we agree was not in the spirit of the site.

We do rely on your reports to let us know what's happening on the boards, and we want to make it absolutely clear that we don't ban people for reporting too much. If a poster is being deliberately inflammatory or is derailing a thread, please let us know so we can take the necessary action behind the scenes.

Above all, we're really sorry that so many of you have been upset by some of the responses on recent threads, when you already have so much to deal with.

Thanks again for posting this thread, @IClaudine

MNHQ

BeckyAMumsnet · 03/07/2025 09:27

Hi all,

Thanks for your posts.

We’ve seen a number of reports and concerns about threads discussing the benefits system, particularly disability benefits, and whether these discussions should be allowed on Mumsnet and so we think it’s important to address this directly.

Critical conversations about how the benefits system functions, whether it’s effective, fair, or open to misuse, are permitted here. These are complex, timely issues, especially in light of ongoing political and economic change. Questioning whether the system is working as intended isn’t, in itself, disablist, it’s part of a broader national conversation that many people, including those directly affected by the system, care deeply about.

What we do not allow is disablism - and that would include posts that attack or stereotype disabled people, suggest claimants are lying en masse, or mock or belittle individuals on the basis of health conditions or support needs. Those posts will be removed, and repeat offenders may find their accounts closed.
We also want to address the term “benefits bashing,” which comes up frequently in reports. We understand that some posts feel harsh or even distressing, especially to those with experience of relying on benefits. But unless a post clearly breaks our Talk guidelines (for example, by being abusive, hateful, or targeted at individuals), it won’t be removed simply for being critical or expressing an unpopular opinion. Posts critiquing the system are fine but you cannot use someone’s benefit status as a way to discredit them in a thread.

We aim to make Mumsnet a place for difficult, real-world discussions, without allowing the tone to tip into hostility or dehumanisation. If you’re unsure whether something crosses that line, please report it and we’ll review.

Thanks
MNHQ

MNHQ

BeckyAMumsnet · 03/07/2025 10:00

PandoraSocks · 03/07/2025 09:45

Hi @BeckyAMumsnet

Thanks for coming on to the thread.

I think that saying disabled people's Motability cars should be marked so that people know they are "free" cars 🙄 is crossing the line, yet MNHQ let it stand.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5362857-taxes-to-rise-to-fund-pip?reply=145298232&utm_campaign=reply&utm_medium=share

In contrast, minor infarctions of the rules, like mentioning the content of a post on another thread are rapidly zapped.

Can you see why we have little faith in the moderation when it comes to ableism? The last few days have been awful.

I am trying to phrase my final comment carefully as I don't want to be rude or be banned...many of the people here are disabled or have disabled family members. We know what is and isn't ableism.

Edited

Ho @PandoraSocks We’ve had reports about this post. While the suggestions may be punitive and perhaps overly simplistic to those with direct experience, and we understand why many posters find them offensive, but we didn't feel it broke our rules (though it was marginal). We allow critical and even uncomfortable views on the benefits system, because in our experience, airing and challenging them openly is better than shutting them down. That doesn’t mean we endorse them. There are many people who have little experience of benefits and perhaps zero experience of the increasing challenges faced by disabled people. We strongly believe that open discussions could go some way to address that. We know that for disabled posters in particular, this political moment feels uncertain and exhausting, and posts like this can add to that, so we understand the strength of feeling and we are trying hard to strike an admittedly difficult balance.

MNHQ

BeckyAMumsnet · 03/07/2025 11:22

TigerRag · 03/07/2025 10:59

Will you address the fact that there are people coming onto boards for disabled people and disrupting the discussion?

Show quote history

Hello @TigerRag we can't see that you've reported that lately - please do so and we'll take a look. It sounds like we'd consider such behaviour inflammatory at the very least so we're keen to investigate further.

MNHQ

KellyMumsnet · 13/04/2026 10:08

Morning @PandoraSocks (and others). Thanks for flagging this again. Could you report any of those threads you mention? We'll happily have a look behind the scenes and make sure they're above board.

MNHQ

KellyMumsnet · 29/04/2026 11:42

Morning, everyone. Thanks to all of you who reported threads and posts that were concerning you here.

We understand that discussions around benefits can be emotive ones, especially for those who are in the position of needing to use that system and cope with all the frustrations that go along with it, on top of having disabilities that already make life more difficult than it should be.

As moderators, however, our role is not to delete based on whether we agree with the sentiment or not but on whether posts are within our Talk guidelines. We will always delete posts that are clearly disablist in tone or content but often posts that might be perceived to be ableist or benefits bashing don't actually break our guidelines. We do allow posters to express critical opinions on public policy or personal experience so long as those posts don't become too personal or otherwise cross the line into abuse or discrimination.

Context is always important, too. While we might allow people to express their frustration at the benefits system, for example, we would probably not allow posts that targeted individuals or were generally discriminatory or dehumanising in tone, and we would look at the path a discussion has taken before making a decision.

We do understand the frustration it can cause when you have taken the time to report and a post is then not deleted but we will always try to explain why and you're always welcome to ask about why a decision was taken. Hitting the report button and letting us know that you're concerned a post is discriminatory should take only a few seconds and we usually don't see problematic posts unless they are reported to us so it really is worth doing. It also helps us to build a picture, particularly if there are 'bad actors' at work, whose posts may not individually break Talk guidelines but, with reports, we can begin to build up a picture of their posting pattern.

We hope that helps at least give a clearer picture of how things work.

MNHQ

KellyMumsnet · 27/05/2026 10:25

Morning, everyone. Thanks for flagging this. We'll take a look at the thread as a whole this morning. If there are any specific posts anyone wold like us to look into though, please do hit the report button and we can then prioritise those.

MNHQ

BeckyAMumsnet · 27/05/2026 16:15

Thanks for your comments.

We’ve looked at the thread, and posts that were reported have been reviewed and deleted where appropriate.

We do understand why threads about disability and the benefits system can feel particularly upsetting and personal to many MNers. Posters are allowed to discuss these subjects, including robustly, but they do still need to stay within our Talk guidelines. We’ll remove posts that cross the line into personal attacks, or language that makes the thread unnecessarily unpleasant for others.

A few posters have asked why we’re asking for individual reports when the thread itself has been mentioned here. The short answer is that Site stuff is useful for alerting us to a general concern, but it isn’t a substitute for reporting specific posts. A report puts the post, poster and context directly in front of the moderation team at the point it’s happening, which means we can look at it much more quickly.

We’re not asking anyone to go back through 30 pages of upsetting posts. But if you’re reading a thread and see something you think breaks guidelines, please do report that post rather than assuming we’ve already seen it, or that someone else will report it. That’s especially important on fast-moving or emotive threads, where individual posts can otherwise be missed.

Reports also help us see patterns. A single post may be borderline, but repeated derailing, goading or bad-faith posting can become much clearer when reports come through.

Mumsnet is post-moderated, which means we don’t see every post before it appears on the site. So while we can’t prevent every guideline-breaking post from appearing, we can and do act when those posts are brought to our attention.

Thanks,
MNHQ

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