Yakoob under fire
Good morning Patchers — welcome to your Thursday briefing.
Leading today is a story about the former independent candidate for mayor and current independent parliamentary candidate for Ladywood. He’s come under fire for sharing a video that Labour says has been doctored — and it has resulted in a young woman facing online abuse. More on that below.
We also have news that a stately home — like something from the pages of Pride and Prejudice — will soon be available to hire for house parties; the tragic story of another death on a Birmingham road; and the latest addition to the lineup for the city’s best music festival.
Tomorrow, we have a great members-only investigation coming out which you won’t want to miss, so do look out for that in your inboxes. We’ve had a flurry of new paying subscribers in the last few days — welcome! We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments once you’ve read it, so please don’t be shy. Until then, have a great day.
Brum in brief
🎞️Falsely accused: Failed mayoral candidate Akhmed Yakoob is at the centre of a controversy after implying a teacher used racist language in a video he shared on TikTok and X. The footage shows a 27-year-old woman doorknocking with her friend, Labour Dudley Councillor Qasim Mughal. The audio is unclear but the woman (who strongly denies she made the slur) says something as she walks away, which — in the video Yakoob posted — sounds like a racial slur. Labour has said it hired an external video forensics team that found the footage had been manipulated and police have also found no evidence of abuse. Yakoob has removed the video — but not until after it went viral and the teacher had already faced an onslaught of online abuse.
🏰Bills, Bills, Bills: A Grade-I listed stately home, whose current owner inherited it from David Cameron’s uncle, is set to open to the public for the first time. Bought by 17th Century scholar Sir William Dugdale in 1625, Blyth Hall has been passed down through the generations, into the hands of the present-day William Dugdale, via his grandfather Bill (a clear theme is emerging here). To pay for its upkeep, the young Dugdale will open the house for events, conferences, house parties, meetings and historical tours. It’s like “living in a Jane Austen novel” he said, “though with nice bathrooms and plumbing that works."
🚨Two arrested after car crash: Yet another car crash in Birmingham has killed a man and left three children and five adults injured. Two 22-year-old men have been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after the collision occurred on the junction of Drews Lane and Wardend Road just after 6pm on Monday. A local, who would not be named, said: "The scene was terrible, it was full of people. Lots of paramedics and police, it was carnage.” More details here.
🎶Soundclash bash: More names have been added to the lineup for the country’s best small festival: Supersonic. Joining Bonnie “prince” Billy, Gazelle Twin and more already announced are Grove who will be hosting a soundclash with Toya Delazy and TaliaBle. “It’s one of the UK’s best melting pots of sonic wizardry, with the best audience to match,” — Grove. More on the acts + tickets here.
🪩Fashion fix: Head to the Dark Horse in Moseley on Saturday for the third ever Midi Couture night from 10pm. With an emphasis on alternative dance music and alternative fashion, wearing your most out-there looks is encouraged (if you’re lacking options, fear not, there’ll also be a clothes rail for you to pick from before the catwalk. Yes you heard that right.) Free entry.
So, Yakoob:
* Joked about abuse of women in a podcast and tried to pass it off as ‘bantz’,
* Has offered his lawyering services to Andrew Tate, and now
* Has libelled a woman teacher.
I’m merely an humble ethnomusicologist and digital strategist-practitioner rather than a sociologsociologist, but there does seem to be a pattern of behaviour emerging here. It may well be wise for those others who legitimately campaign on behalf of the innocent citizens of Gaza to consider the company they are keeping.
The reason journalism has legal constraints (on defamation and reporting personal details in court cases, for example) is partly because without them this kind of misinformed witch-hunt would be commonplace. Most tabloids flout that or push against it on a regular basis, and of course the system is far from ethically pure ! (phone tapping, Leveson, the Royals....) But at least it's a framework to give some limits. But social media? Nothing. Anarchy. A twisted army of bad actors and ill rumour which ruins many lives and takes more - mental ill health in the young is a particular alarm. A ready platform for malign states to undermine any and all democratic processes. A circus where it is increasingly impossible to know what is real. Where it is all too easy to point fingers and believe whatever you want to MUST be true. But real people are harmed. I see good, local journalism as a key defence against this. So please, keep writing and keep checking.