I've never seen anything like the abuse during this election

"Several were congratulatory - he's a popular figure in the Park ward of Calderdale, West Yorkshire, having served there for Labour since 2021. But there were also more than 200 posts containing vile abuse, including branding him a paedophile and a terrorist, with another asking how many women and children he had sexually assaulted. The Halifax-born politician was also told to "get out of the UK", "speak English" and another poster said he was a "cancer" who needed to be deported."

""I have been involved in politics since the age of 17 and I have never seen anything like this, not in any of my previous elections," Fazal told the BBC. Since outing the trolls on his page - who were mainly male but included some women - he has had a wave of support from residents, fellow councillors of different parties and Halifax MP Kate Dearden, who said she was "absolutely appalled"."

"Councillors of all parties and backgrounds have reported a significant increase in the abuse they have faced both in person and online, with last week's English local elections a tipping point for many. "Politics has changed and become quite nasty. I've been spat at in a shop and called a traitor," the Labour councillor said. "I've been a councillor for 16 years. I don't want to leave local politics, but I don't like the environment any more.""

"Nosheen Khalid, an independent councillor in Birmingham, said cyberbullies created AI-generated images of her naked, semi-naked and taking her hijab off, all during her successful campaign to win her Alum Rock seat. "The online abuse was just completely out of this world," she said, adding she was called the P-word as soon as she started canvassing."

After being re-elected, councillor Shazad Fazal reviewed Facebook messages sent to him and found more than 200 posts containing vile abuse. The abuse included accusations of being a paedophile and a terrorist, questions about sexual assaults, and calls to “get out of the UK,” “speak English,” and deportation. Fazal said he had never seen anything like it in previous elections. Support followed after he exposed the trolls, including from residents, councillors from other parties, and Halifax MP Kate Dearden. Councillors across parties reported increased harassment both online and in person, with local elections described as a tipping point. Nosheen Khalid reported AI-generated nude images and being called a P-word during her campaign.

Read at www.bbc.com