Cross-Party MPs Demand Ofcom Investigation Into Antisemitism On X

Melanie Dawes was appointed Chief Executive of the Office of Communications (Ofcom) in 2020 (Alamy)

zoecrowther.bsky.social

5 min read20 November 2025

Exclusive: A cross-party group of MPs and peers has demanded that Ofcom take action against a surge in antisemitic posts and calls for violence against Jews on X.

More than 30 MPs and peers have written to Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes asking the regulator to urgently investigate whether Elon Musk’s X platform, formerly known as Twitter, is failing to comply with its legal duties under the Online Safety Act.

The letter, seen by PoliticsHome, is led by Labour MP and chair of the antisemitism All-Party Parliamentary Group, Joani Reid, and has been signed by 34 Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green, Plaid Cymru, TUV and Alliance MPs and peers.

It follows research by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), which analysed replies to posts by prominent British Jews after two people were killed in a terrorist attack outside Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur in October.

The analysis uncovered posts openly celebrating the killings, expressing explicit genocidal hatred towards Jews, and calling for further violence. Some of the messages included “Every time a Jew dies, the world becomes a better place” and “Don’t stop till… all Jews are gone off this blessed earth”.

According to CCDH, much of the content identified appears to meet the threshold for “priority illegal content” under Ofcom’s Illegal Content Codes of Practice, which are already in force under the Online Safety Act and apply to all online platforms.

Labour MP Reid said: "No online platform gets a pass for tackling anti-Jewish racism.

“For too long, X has been a source of abuse and hate. We are calling on Ofcom to use every power available to it, to take action and hold the platform to account for breaches of our online safety laws."

Ofcom has so far considered children's online safety as a top priority in its enforcement of the Online Safety Act, which came into effect earlier this year.

There are signs, however, that the regulator is starting to also put more emphasis on illegal hate speech. In recent weeks, Ofcom has met with campaigners to discuss whether there is evidence of a systemic problem with unlawful hate content on X in particular. PoliticsHome understands that the regulator is expected to announce an update to its online safety strategy in the coming weeks.

Ofcom HQ — Ofcom has faced criticism for not doing enough to enforce powers granted to it by the Online Safety Act (Alamy)

CCDH chief executive Imran Ahmed said the findings showed “a tidal wave of antisemitic abuse and calls for violence against Jews on X, including in the aftermath of the heinous Heaton Park Synagogue terror attack”.

“No community should be forced to endure such violence and dehumanisation, especially on a platform that claims to protect its users from such abuse,” he said.

“X has clear responsibilities under the Online Safety Act, yet these abuses remain unchecked. Ofcom must act swiftly and use its powers to hold X accountable.”

Danny Stone, chief executive of the Antisemitism Policy Trust, said antisemitic content on X has escalated dramatically, rising from approximately half a million posts a year to a million a day over the last three years.

“Many of its previous safety measures and policies have been stripped out, and the results – including the spread of outlawed content – will be obvious to anyone accessing the site,” he said.

“Public safety is at stake, and Ofcom is being timid where it must be bold. We call on the regulator to step up and take firm action.”

Some Labour MPs have also called on the government to launch a minister-led review of its own use of X as a social media platform for government advertising, citing concerns over the impact of the platform on British politics in recent months.

PoliticsHome understands that the Government Communication Service (GCS) is currently reviewing the government’s use of X, but the review process is relatively informal, conducted without ministerial oversight, and takes place on an ad hoc basis when officials judge that a “material change” has occurred on a platform.

Labour MP Sarah Owen, chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, told PoliticsHome the government must take seriously “the threat X poses to our country’s democracy and social cohesion”.

“It is also no longer a space for domestic political engagement, with many followers being bots or international actors, paid to destabilise our democracy and sow division,” she said.

“There is no obligation for government departments to use X. The platform has not been a sensible space for a long time, and we should stop lending it any sense of legitimacy by continuing to treat it as a mainstream tool.”

Ofcom has been approached for comment.

The full list of signatories to the letter is below: