Renowned Birmingham Councillor, Mohammed Aikhlaq, recently became victim to a fake news scandal, after social media trolls falsely linked him to the Jaguar Land Rover Heist.
Images of the Councillor, along with two other colleagues, were circulated in the Facebook post regarding the three arrests made in relation to the JLR heist
The fake post was taken from a genuine Birmingham Mail Facebook link on the three arrests, although the men were not named in the original article.
Cllr Aikhlaq, who is a manager at JLR’s Lode Lane plant where the raid took place, explains how he was bombarded with phone calls, messages and comments after the fake story broke.
He said: “I’ve had calls from Pakistan, from Saudi Arabia, colleagues have asked me about it, it’s been a very distressing time.
“It’s been shared thousands of times all over the place. I work at JLR so some people have believed it.
“My son Ibrahim, who is 14, came home from school upset – he was told by other kids that his dad is a thief.”
Along with his established career, Cllr Aikhlaq has been a long serving governor at Leigh Primary School Trust and was recently mentioned in the New Years Honours list for his ongoing services to education.
Cllr Aikhlaq explained how confused parents have contacted the school to check the accuracy of story.
Friends of the Councillor have said the event will be reported to West Midlands Police although no formal complaint has yet been made.
A spokesman for the West Midlands Labour Party said that they are currently investigating the incident further
Birmingham Mail editor Marc Reeves spoke out against the abuse of the article, saying: “We take this misuse of the Birmingham Mail’s brand and reputation very seriously and will be looking at our own legal options very closely.”
