Social media posts are falsely attributing fabricated quotes to London’s Muslim mayor Sadiq Khan from an interview with Islam Channel.
These posts misleadingly suggest Khan made promises of specific benefits to Muslims ahead of the recent mayoral elections.
But these posts are false and often spread by xenophobic, Islamophobic, and extremist accounts peddling disinformation.
Islam Channel interviewed Sadiq Khan and other mayoral candidates ahead of the election to find out what the candidates offered our viewers.
A post on X shows a shortened version of our video with Khan and includes a fake quote. “The children of Muslims who are underemployed or in jobs not suited to their great skills will have subsidies and I will build housing for those of Islamic faith. Diversity is our strength!” The poster adds, “He wants to Islamize London.”
Reuters Fact Check highlights that the X account @RadioGenoa is known to frequently share anti-immigrant content. The misleading post remains live on the platform and doesn’t have any community notice attached to it.
Posts deliberately misrepresent Khan
Other social media posts have snippets from the video overlaid with text claiming Khan said “46,000 houses for young Muslims to be built in London” and promised free education to ‘doctors and engineers’ that just arrived.”
These posts deliberately misrepresent Khan’s actual statements, which did not single out Muslims for exclusive subsidies.
“The mayor did not say these words,” a spokesperson for the Mayor of London told Reuters Fact Check, “and can clearly be heard discussing his policy of providing free skills training to any young Londoner who is unemployed or in low-paid work, as well as talking about the need to build more housing for all.”
While Khan’s interview was with a Muslim channel, prompting him to address matters that are of concern to the community, the video clearly shows he did not make any pledges for free education, housing or other exclusive benefits for Muslims only.
“Every Londoner who is on low income or not working will get free training to get the skills for jobs that are created in London,” he says in the video.
During election campaigns, candidates often engage with different communities and groups, focussing their messaging to connect with each audience’s interests without making promises exclusively benefiting any one group.
Watch the full video below to see exactly what he said.
