Sadiq Khan received racist abuse after false reports he blocked Queen statue | Sadiq Khan

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Sadiq Khan has received a wave of social media abuse, some of it racist, after newspapers incorrectly reported he might block a new statue of the Queen, days after the London mayor warned some media outlets were monetizing hatred.

The story, initially reported by the Telegraph under the headline, No room for Queen Elizabeth II statue on Trafalgar Squares fouth plinth, rules Sadiq Khan, was printed despite a statement saying this was not the case.

The fourth plinth in the square is occupied by a rolling series of sculptures and artworks, currently a statue of John Chilembwe, a Baptist pastor who led a revolt against the British in what is now Malawi in 1915, in which he was killed.

The longstanding program for the empty plinth, organized by a commission answerable to Khans office, has been set out for the next four years, leading some newspapers to say this meant a statue of the late Queen could not be placed there.

But in a statement, the Greater London Authority, which covers the mayoralty and the citys devolved assembly, did not rule this out, saying the location of a statue was a decision for King Charles III and the royal family.

It added: A statue of the Queen at a suitable location in London is a matter for the royal family to consider, and of course the Greater London Authority stands ready to support them in their wishes.

A later statement from Khans office said he was happy to support the royals in what they wished, which includes using the fourth plinth if that is the royal familys preference.

There is, currently, no indication that the royals have asked that the plinth be used for a statue.

While the headline of the Telegraph story was later amended, the idea of ​​Khan supposedly blocking the statue was picked up by a series of other mainstream outlets, also trending on social media.

Many social media messages accused Khan of not being patriotic, contrasting what they saw as his decision over the Queen with the presence on the fourth plinth of artwork by a Malawian sculptor, Samson Kambalu. A number used racist slurs.

It comes less than a week after Khan, speaking at the Labor conference, said analysis showed there had been 230,000 racist tweets about him sent since he took the role in 2016.

At the event, Khan said the hatred was often stoked by inaccurate reporting in the traditional media, who had realized that stories demonizing him, even if misleading, received lots of views.

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What we have realized now is that when you use my name, its good clickbait for traffic, he said. Its a trickle-down tone being set by the mainstream media. Its good for business he said, adding: Hate has been monetised.

Dawn Butler MP, the Labor MP for Brent Central in north London, said the press had a responsibility to ensure their output, including headlines, is fair and accurate.

She said: Its no secret that using Sadiqs name online guarantees clicks and generates income. Thats particularly true if theres a way the headline can be used to suggest Sadiq is not truly British as it gets picked up and widely shared by the far right and racist trolls online.

Inaccurate headlines of the kind weve seen this week are designed to be inflammatory and go viral to be shared not read and it is clear they were shared widely.

Speaking last week, Khan blamed his Conservative opponent in the 2016 mayoral election, Zac Goldsmith, for having mainstreamed and normalized prejudices with a campaign widely criticized for being racist in the way it highlighted Khans Muslim background.

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