Outrage as Wikipedia changes grooming gangs article to ‘moral panic’ from the 'Far-Right'
The Wikipedia page for the national grooming gangs scandal has had its title updated to describe it as a “moral panic” popularised by the "far-right".
The change has been described as “disgusting” and “repulsive” by whistleblowers and survivors of the national atrocity, which saw thousands of girls systematically abused by gangs of predominantly Pakistani men.
The page was formerly titled “Muslim grooming gangs in the UK”, but the name change occurred today.
The introductory paragraph states that the “Muslim grooming gang panic is a moral panic alleging that Asian (specifically South Asian, Pakistani and Muslim) men are sexually abusing young White girls in the United Kingdom.”
It adds that “Right-wing and far-right activists, as well as more mainstream individuals, helped popularise the terminology in the 2010s.”
The grooming gang scandal was first exposed on a national scale by Andrew Norfolk, a reporter with The Times, who in 2010 noted that Pakistani men dominated court records for this kind of abuse, particularly in the South Yorkshire town of Rotherham.
The change has been described as “disgusting” and “repulsive” by whistleblowers and survivors
More recently, abuse rings made up predominantly of Pakistani men have been exposed in Telford, Rochdale, Newcastle, Oxford and Bristol.
GB News analysis last year found over 50 different towns and cities where this sort of abuse had been detected.
A survivor of abuse from Rotherham, speaking on condition of anonymity, told GB News: “It was a scandal where over 1400 children were raped and trafficked around England. I don’t see how they can class it as a ‘moral panic’ when every authority would not act because of racial tension.”
She added: “It was swept under the carpet. It’s a scandal and it always will be, no matter what some people who are trying to muddy the waters say.
The page was formerly titled “Muslim grooming gangs in the UK”, but the name change occurred today
The page was moved in order to 'reflect how the subject is dealt with in reliable sources'
“Survivors shouldn’t be insulted and this is a big insult, it’s a disgusting slap in the face to see this change being made.”
Another survivor known as Elizabeth, not her real name, said it was a “repulsive” change.
“Once again we are reacting to people who are more interested in promoting political correctness and lies about the abuse that we suffered rather than owning up to the reality of what happened.”
She told GB News: “The stats are obvious to everyone who believes in the truth: the vast majority of grooming gang perpetrators are of South Asian descent, particularly Pakistani. They abused us because they saw us white girls as easy victims. Denying this is repulsive.”
Elizabeth added: “When are these people going to drop their political lies and join the fight to promote justice for us survivors?”
Last year, then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman said “the truth is not racist” after she faced a backlash from Labour politicians and some sections of the media for referring to the national grooming gangs crisis as being dominated by Pakistani men.
Several government reports have confirmed the trend she referred to, particularly in Rotherham, Telford and Rochdale.