BBC STAR IN RACE HATE TWEET HELL
BBC presenter Gavin Ramjaun has spoken of his disgust after Twitter said a racist troll who called him a ‘curry muncher aborigine’ did not violate its rules.
The sports host – whose parents are from Mauritius – was told after a football news bulletin: ‘You’re looking like a curry muncher aborigine again and letting the Indians down mf. Cut your damn hair and choose your wardrobe with a stylist… Idiot.’
When he reported it, Twitter – which promised to do more to fight racism after black players were abused at the Euros – replied: ‘We didn’t find a violation of our rules in the
content reported.’ Incredibly, it added: ‘We encourage you to reach out again in future if you see potential violations.’
Ramjaun, a former Sky Sports host and ITV presenter, said: ‘Twitter haven’t acknowledged that the words used are inflammatory, racist and harmful.’
He revealed Wednesday’s tweet was not the first, adding: ‘It happens every couple of months. You get people making reference to skin colour and saying, “You don’t deserve to be here, you’re taking an English person’s job”. The immigrant stuff. It makes you feel low and worthless.’
And he said, although the abuse was ‘horrendous and dehumanising’, he was also angry that the response ‘ seems like an automated email back. Has someone even read it? When they say it hasn’t fallen foul of their code of conduct, it makes you feel even worse.
‘I have just lost faith in social media. There hasn’t been any empathy. A person reaching out would have been much more palatable.’
After online abuse at the Euros – much of it aimed at England’s black stars after the penalty shoot-out defeat in the final – Twitter said: ‘We condemn racism in all its forms. Our aim is to be the world’s most diverse, inclusive and accessible tech company, and lead the industry in stopping such abhorrent views being seen on our platform.’
Before the tournament, it said it had brought in automated tools to ‘quickly identify and remove racist, abusive Tweets’. It reported 1,622 were taken down in 24 hours after the final. And it promised action over abuse missed by software but reported by users.
But Ramjaun said: ‘The platforms are all about “tracking down online hate” and stamping out these views and how they are tackling it. Then you see this come through. I’m sick of this disgrace.
‘You see people committing suicide and having issues with mental health – you’ve got to be more proactive.’
The tweet was finally removed yesterday when Metro contacted Twitter but the author’s account remained active.
Ramjaun said he had talked to managers and had access to a counsellor, adding: ‘The BBC have been really supportive.’ A spokesperson said: ‘BBC Sport has a zero-tolerance stance towards online abuse aimed at our staff.’
Last night, Twitter told us: ‘It is our top priority to keep everyone who uses Twitter safe and free from abuse.
While we have made recent strides, we know there is still work to be done to work at scale and pace to build a healthier Twitter.
‘After review, we have taken action on the tweet for violating the hateful conduct policy.’