Labour council leader blames AI after antisemitic video posted to his social media
Basildon Labour leader sorry for sharing Michael Jackson song with inflammatory lyrics
The leader of a Labour council has posted an apology online over an antisemitic video shared to his social media account, which he said was created using AI.
Gavin Callaghan, leader of Basildon Borough Council, said he was completely unaware that the video, branded ‘Back Basildon Stop Reform’, and set to the tune of Michael Jackson’s ‘They Don’t Care About Us’, included antisemitic lyrics.
He said he “did not check the video adequately before posting” but deleted it “immediately” after being alerted to the issue.
The 1996 track drew a barrage of criticism over its original lyrics, and Jackson subsequently re-recorded the song with the offending lines removed.
But the video posted by Callaghan featured the original lyrics, which were laid over images of sitting Conservative councillors at Basildon Borough Council.
The word “Jew” and the antisemitic slur “Kike” — a highly derogatory term targeting Jewish people — were displayed in bold text over headshots of the Tory councillors.
The caption on the video read: “The Billericay Tories will run Basildon Council again in 35 days’ time if Reform UK win enough seats to put them back in charge”, with an emoji of an hourglass.
In an apology posted last week, the Labour Group leader said: “Antisemitism has no place in our society and I am deeply sorry for unknowingly sharing something that carried antisemitic content.
“I would never have posted it had I known, and accept that I should have been more careful in my use of AI.
“I will learn from this mistake and be far more cautious in the future.”
Richard Holden, the Conservative MP for Basildon and Billericay, called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to remove the Labour councillor from the party.
He said: “It takes a lot to shock me, and I had hoped to never see such antisemitic bile from Labour again.
“Sir Keir Starmer must immediately kick out this councillor, or he will show that the words he spoke about rooting out anti-Jewish hatred from Labour were just for show at a time when the British Jewish community is feeling more under attack than ever before.”
Lord Pickles, co-chair of the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation, said he found the comments “absolutely appalling” and the councillor’s actions were “inexplicable”.