Welsh Refugee Council staff ‘harassed’ after Musk shares X post

Staff at a refugee charity say colleagues have had “their lives threatened” after Elon Musk shared a post which suggested videos of girls were being used to “entice” migrants to the UK.

The Welsh Refugee Council (WRC) said staff and volunteers had been harassed online after a video, from 2023, was shared on the billionaire entrepreneur’s social media site, X.

WRC said the video was made as a school project and shows a group of girls explaining why Wales is a welcoming country for refugees.

It said it took “false and defamatory statements seriously”, while the Welsh government said claims relating to the video were “utterly irresponsible”.

South Wales Police said it was looking into an allegation of malicious communications.

The post shared by an account and reposted by Musk accused the charity of “using 12-year-old girls… to entice migrant men to come to Wales” and has been viewed more than 5.5 million times.

Also posting on X, the former leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, Andrew RT Davies, accused Labour Welsh government ministers of using schoolchildren as “propaganda”, to promote an “ideologically motivated project”.

Davies added it was “highly inappropriate for a political organisation to be going into schools and using children in propaganda like this”.

WRC said it was in the process of referring Davies’ comments to the Senedd’s Standards Commissioner.

The Welsh Conservatives said they would not comment on the decision to refer Davies.

A South Wales Police spokesperson said: “An allegation of malicious communications was reported at around 11.30pm on Saturday January 11 concerning a post on the social media platform ‘X’. The matter is being looked into by South Wales Police.”

Andrea Cleaver, the chief executive of WRC, said the video “was never intended as an advert to encourage migration and was shared to show the positivity of pupils”.

The charity said the video was removed shortly after its publication, due to a “hostile backlash” and it being “used out of context”.

One member of staff at the charity, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the abuse their colleagues had received in recent days had made them feel “physically sick”.

“There is a strong possibility it will directly affect the lives of the babies, children and vulnerable women I work with, some of whom have already been victims of hate crime in the UK,” they said.

“It makes me feel physically sick to hear that my colleagues have been abused online and had their lives threatened because of these actions.”

Another colleague said they felt “disheartened” by some of the messages they had received.

“It undermines the hard work we do to help others start new lives and feel safe in Wales,” they said.

“I was particularly discouraged by the wave of racist comments targeting staff.

“Wales welcomed us with open arms, providing the safety we were searching for.”

WRC was set up more than 30 years ago and provides advice and support to refugees coming to Wales.

In a statement, Ms Cleaver said the charity would “urge everyone to seek the facts before sharing or endorsing inaccurate content”.

“The Welsh Refugee Council would like to clarify that we did not create or commission the video currently being circulated,” she said.

“While we were not involved in its production, we re-shared the post as a positive example of young people championing messages of compassion and inclusion.

“We take any false or defamatory statements seriously and are working closely with the police and relevant authorities to address this matter.

“The Welsh Refugee Council remains unwavering in our mission to support sanctuary seekers and refugees, fostering understanding and promoting inclusion”.

The Welsh government said: “The claims relating to this video are untrue and utterly irresponsible.

“The video in question was produced by a group of young children to show their school as a welcoming place. The video was withdrawn in 2023 following extensive online abuse received by the school.

“Anybody who cares about the safety of our young people should not be sharing false claims about them.”

BBC Wales is attempting to contact Musk for comment.