More than 15,000 people have signed a public petition backing British-Nigerian photographer and Southbank Centre chair Misan Harriman after a wave of criticism from conservative British media and politicians over his social media posts about the Golders Green terror attack.
The campaign, organised by advocacy group Good Law Project, accuses newspapers including the Daily Mail and The Telegraph of orchestrating what it described as a “dishonest smear campaign” against Harriman.
An open letter published by the organisation said Harriman was being targeted for speaking out on issues including Gaza, racism, and media bias.
The petition has attracted support from public figures including Greta Thunberg, Gary Lineker, Mark Ruffalo, and Louis Theroux.
The British media backlash against Harriman followed comments he shared online questioning why early reporting of the April 29 Golders Green stabbings focused mainly on two Jewish victims while paying less attention to a Muslim man who police later confirmed had also been attacked earlier that day.
Conservative commentators and some Members of Parliament, like David Taylor and Robert Jenrick, accused Harriman of promoting conspiracy theories and drawing inappropriate comparisons linked to the Holocaust.
Harriman has denied those allegations, insisting his comments were about media framing and equal treatment of victims.
According to supporters, the criticism reflects a broader attempt to silence pro-Palestinian voices and critics of Israel in Britain.
The controversy has triggered a flood of complaints to the UK’s press regulator, the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).
Reports said more than 70,000 complaints had been lodged against several newspapers over their coverage of Harriman, believed to be among the largest coordinated complaint campaigns in the regulator’s history.
In the open letter, supporters said: “We stand against all forms of hate speech, violence, and discrimination.
"We stand for truth and justice. We stand with Misan Harriman.”
Harriman, known internationally for his photography and activism, became the first Black chair of the Southbank Centre in 2021.
He has frequently spoken publicly on racial justice, migration, mental health, and the war in Gaza.
He has also been a guest on Nigeria Info's Borderlines with Ireti Bakare-Yusuf, where he discussed “Photography, Memory & The Struggle For Palestine.”
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