The role AI images are playing in migrant hotel protests

WorldTechnology
16 Sep 2025 • 12:23 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

image is not available

  • AI-generated images portraying Muslims as a threat are fuelling anti-immigration protests outside hotels in Britain, according to research submitted to the House of Commons home affairs committee.
  • Far-right accounts are reportedly spreading manipulated images online that reinforce racist stereotypes, including depictions of Muslims carrying guns or wearing suicide vests.
  • The rise of AI-generated material, combined with social media algorithms, is accelerating radicalisation and making extremist ideas more visible.
  • A London School of Economics study found that social media posts containing visual depictions of racist conspiracy theories were amplified about 30 per cent more than others.
  • Experts warn that biases embedded in AI systems reproduce harmful stereotypes, normalising Islamophobic imagery and potentially inspiring violence by positioning white western men as righteous defenders.

IN FULL