At the time of writing, over 21,000 people have signed a public petition in support of Misan Harriman — the Nigerian-British photographer, Oscar-nominated filmmaker, Save the Children ambassador, and first Black Chair of Trustees of the Southbank Centre.
Organised by the Good Law Project, it calls out what it describes as a coordinated smear campaign by The Telegraph and the Daily Mail, amplified by right-leaning media, conservative politicians, and some members of the UK’s Jewish community.
On April 29, two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green, North-West London — an attack Prime Minister Starmer condemned as antisemitic, triggering a COBRA emergency meeting. London’s Metropolitan Police declared it a “terrorist incident”. Wall-to-wall media coverage followed. What it consistently omitted: the same attacker, Essa Suleiman, had earlier that day stabbed a Muslim man in Dover Street, South London. Suleiman had a record of serious knife crime dating to 2008, when he stabbed two police officers and a police dog. Met Commissioner Mark Rowley noted a history of serious mental health issues — Suleiman had been held in a secure psychiatric institution and released just days before the attacks.
So, what is Harriman’s crime? He posted a simple, factually correct question — why did media reports focus exclusively on the Jewish victims while the Muslim victim went largely unreported? He was not alone in asking. But as a vocal pro-Palestine campaigner, every syllable he utters is scrutinised. Since the campaign began, The Telegraph has published four articles to discredit him. The author of the latest, seemingly rattled by the scale of public support for Harriman, wrote: “Harriman’s video may be garlanded with impressive-sounding intellectual quotations and delivered in silky-soft tones, but it’s actually a manifestation of something scarily sinister…” I hope he feels better now that he’s got that bee out of his bonnet.
The context is critical. Since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre and Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza, hate crimes against both communities have surged. The Community Security Trust recorded 4,103 antisemitic incidents in 2023 — double the 2022 figure — with 66% occurring after October 7, and daily incidents rising from 5 to 31 overnight. By 2025, the monthly average had doubled to 308. Anti-Muslim hate spiked equally: Tell MAMA recorded a 335% increase in the four months after October 7, with 2,010 incidents compared to 600 the previous year. Both communities are under attack. That was Harriman’s point.
Reform MP Robert Jenrick accused Harriman of promoting Holocaust-related conspiracy theories — a complete and deliberate falsehood. Anyone who has watched his videos knows he goes to extraordinary lengths to elevate discourse, not inflame it. The public response has been emphatic: over 85,000 complaints filed with IPSO — the largest in the regulator’s history, tripling the previous record. A cross-party group of 20 parliamentarians wrote to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy condemning the campaign. Signatories include Greta Thunberg, Gary Lineker, Mark Ruffalo, Riz Ahmed, Hugh Bonneville, and Tracy Emin. British-Israeli analyst Daniel Levy titled his Zeteo Op-Ed: “Misan Harriman Is Not Antisemitic. It’s Dangerous to Imply He Is.”
I had the honour of hosting Harriman on Nigeria Info 99.3 FM’s Borderlines, where he spoke to me about photography, memory, and the struggle for Palestine.
Harriman on Borderlines in 2025
“The legacy of colonialism and white supremacy is something we Nigerians must recognise, because our country was occupied – I know what my parents were born into…. This thing is in my blood. So, who am I to have a platform and just get on with [living] my fabulous life? Absolutely, NOT! “ – Misan Harriman on Borderlines, August 2025.
Antisemitism is real, Islamophobia is real, and both are abhorrent and must be condemned without exception. But so must the weaponisation of that charge to silence legitimate questions about media bias and equal humanity. Critical thinking is not a conspiracy. Demanding accurate, balanced reporting should not be controversial.
Misan Harriman asked a question that deserved an answer. He got a smear campaign instead.
I STAND WITH MISAN!
Ireti Bakare-Yusuf
Broadcast Journalist
Host of Borderlines on Nigeria Info 99.3 FM
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