Which social media posts by Tommy Robinson have been condemned as racist and by whom?
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Executive summary
Tommy Robinson has posted a number of social-media messages that multiple organisations, victims’ groups and political commentators have publicly condemned as racist or Islamophobic — examples include derogatory insults about the Prophet Muhammad, a 2019 Facebook post attacking a rape-support flyer with the line “I guess it's ok to rape white women then?”, a racial slur calling commentator Bushra Shaikh a “coconut”, and broader posts portraying Islam as inherently violent; critics range from rape‑support charities and Muslim groups to anti‑racism NGOs, police investigators and mainstream media outlets [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6].
1. What specific posts are cited as racist or Islamophobic — the rape‑flyer tweet and blasphemous jibes
In February 2019 Robinson posted on Facebook beside a Rape Crisis flyer for minority victims the line “I guess it's ok to rape white women then?”, a post that Rape Crisis condemned for disrupting vital services after it prompted racist and abusive contacts to the centre and which has been repeatedly cited by press and encyclopedic sources as an example of his inflammatory social‑media output [3]. Separately, screenshots circulated online of Robinson’s past posts using profane insults aimed at the Prophet Muhammad — language which generated outrage when he travelled to the UAE because the country enforces blasphemy and anti‑discrimination laws and local onlookers urged authorities to act [1] [2].
2. The “coconut” remark and who complained — activists, journalists and a Met probe
Recent reporting names a social‑media post in which Robinson called political commentator Bushra Shaikh a “coconut” (and “coconut sausage”) after she sought to debate him; campaigners and commentators characterised the term as a racialised insult when used by a white person about someone of South Asian or Black background, and the Metropolitan Police have been reported to be investigating complaints submitted by members of the public over that abuse [4] [7]. Media outlets covering the story describe formal complaints and police contact with complainants as part of that inquiry [4] [7].
3. Platforms and institutions that have condemned his posts
Twitter/X permanently banned Robinson in 2018 for violating hateful‑conduct rules after posts portraying Islam as violent, a move widely reported as a platform enforcement action against his social‑media messaging [5]. Campaign groups and NGOs including Hope Not Hate and Stand Up to Racism have repeatedly named his social posts as drivers of Islamophobic sentiment and linked them to street violence and mobilisation of far‑right supporters [6]. The Muslim Association of Britain and other Muslim community organisations have publicly accused him of “fanning the flames of violence” via social media [6]. Rape Crisis publicly condemned the 2019 post for the harmful impact it had on service users [3].
4. Media and legal framing — courtroom, journalism and counterclaims
Courts and legal filings have documented the real‑world harm of Robinson’s online posts: high‑court hearings described his viral videos and social posts as “racist invective” that led to targeted harassment and displacement of a Syrian refugee family, while Robinson’s defenders have argued he was drawing attention to alleged wrongdoing and contesting interpretations of his intent [8]. Press outlets from The Guardian to The Independent have catalogued and criticised his pattern of Islamophobic and anti‑immigrant postings and their effects on public discourse [8] [6] [9].
5. Disputes, context and limits of available reporting
Some reporting and Robinson himself frame certain posts as targeting “terrorism” or specific behaviours rather than entire faith groups, and defenders argue that labels like “racist” are politicised; those counterclaims appear in legal submissions and his public statements but are not universally accepted by the organisations cited above [2] [8]. The current sources document multiple posts and reactions but do not provide every original screenshot or a comprehensive archive of his accounts, so precise wording and the full chronology of every contested post are not exhaustively reproduced in the available reporting [1] [3] [4].
6. Bottom line — who condemned which posts
Summary: Rape Crisis condemned the 2019 Facebook post juxtaposing a rape‑support flyer with “I guess it's ok to rape white women then?” as disrupting services and provoking racist abuse [3]; Muslim organisations (e.g., Muslim Association of Britain), anti‑racism groups (Hope Not Hate, Stand Up to Racism) and mainstream outlets have condemned his repeated Islamophobic and anti‑immigrant posts and linked them to street violence [6] [9]; Twitter/X banned him for hateful conduct over posts portraying Islam as violent [5]; the Metropolitan Police have been reported to be investigating his “coconut” slur aimed at Bushra Shaikh after complaints from the public and campaigners [4] [7]; and UAE commentators and outlets publicly protested his blasphemous insults when images resurfaced during his visit [1] [2]. Where sources conflict or defend intent, those counterarguments are noted in legal filings and Robinson’s own statements [2] [8].