Teacher at centre of 'racist' viral video vows to help fight 'fake news'

-Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited
-Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited


Cheryl Bennett still struggles to keep her emotions in check if the face or voice of controversial lawyer Akhmed Yakoob slides across her screen on social media. "It immediately brings it all back. I can see him standing there, arms folded, the video replaying in my head, him saying 'make your own judgement'. That's why I have no desire to ever see him or hear him apologise."

Cheryl, soon to become a mum for the first time, was the Wednesbury school teacher unwittingly caught up in a politically motivated video storm last year, thanks to Yakoob. He gleefully sent a video on to his 210,000 TikTok followers which appeared to show Cheryl speaking a racist slur while out on the local election campaign trail supporting a friend. She was in fact saying a totally innocent comment but false captions had been added.

He then doubled down by sharing her name and school across social media channels. As a result, Cheryl was overwhelmed with hate messages, threats and abuse as the video went viral, reaching more than two million people in a day. Her school head at Stuart Bathurst Catholic High School was urged to sack her and even pupils at her school condemned her. She was forced into hiding and the trauma was so intense she at one point says she contemplated ending it all.

ADVERTISEMENT

READ MORE: Akhmed Yakoob pays out 'thousands' to distraught teacher over false racism video

Yakoob recently made a formal apology and a substantial payout to her for his actions while denying he had been responsible for doctoring the video. He told BirminghamLive he had been duped, too.

Cheryl is now on maternity leave ahead of the birth of her first child. She has spoken of her 'full heart' thanks to the outporing of love and support she received when the truth was revealed.

And she's determined to use her ordeal for good while fearful that others will face similar ordeals as artificial intelligence and the ability to fake content becomes more sophisticated. "Even Akhmed Yakoob said the footage got sent to him and he fell for it and he's an intelligent criminal defence lawyer. No wonder children fell for it."

A still from the viral video and, right, Akhmed Yakoob promoting it to his followers on TikTok
A still from the viral video and, right, Akhmed Yakoob promoting it to his followers on TikTok -Credit:No credit

She said she was now seeking to 'look forward not back' and to see the events that happened as "not something that happened to me, but something that happened for me, to make me a better educator for the next generation."

ADVERTISEMENT

On Yakoob, she added: "I try not to see the bad in anyone, and I'm sure he didn't wake up that morning and think 'I am going to go out of my way to ruin someone's life today'. But in that moment, he was pursuing a political agenda, and I got caught in the crossfire. I don't think he's a bad person but his actions have consequences.

"I have no desire to see him face to face to hear his apology. He has already taken so much of my time that I'm not going to give him anymore. I don't need his apology, I just need him to not do it again."

She said she hopes primary and secondary schools will boost their teaching around AI and social media usage. "As a teacher I am really worried about how easy it is to mislead children. Adults were caught out by this, with their life experiences and knowledge, so it's not surprising children were caught out too. It should absolutely be part of the curriculum to help children recognise fake news and misinformation."

The Inside Birmingham with Jane Haynes newsletter covered the story in detail last May. You can read the full story here.

BirminghamLive's exclusive coverage of the story at the time - and the aftermath

Teacher's 'life blown apart' in onslaught of hate as false racism claim goes viral

Police confirm 'no racist slurs or language' in viral video that 'made teacher's life hell'

Head teacher's 'horror' as school 'bombarded with abuse' over fake racism video

'My heart is full' says teacher at centre of viral racism video storm after massive support

ADVERTISEMENT

She is also pushing for an enforced age limit on social media usage, with verifications of age. "Parents need to take responsibility too. We had parents at our school who had no idea their child had commented on this video, some of them making really inappropriate comments to me or to Akhmed Yakoob, who has obviously had backlash against him too. Some of the parents are totally unaware that their children are risking being in trouble. There is a lot more we can all do on fake news."

MP Jess Phillips, safeguarding minister and Birmingham Yardley MP, praised Cheryl's bravery in speaking out after an ordeal that must have been horrific. "I hope she can put it behind her and has a brilliant life, and those who were responsible see the consequences."

Mr Yakoob said he would absolutely abide by her wishes to steer clear, while wanting her to know he was very sorry for the consequences of his actions. "I'm glad it's over and Cheryl's moving on. I wish her the very best of luck. I do regret my actions about everything. It was a mistake."