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Asa Winstanley's piece about "fake Labour accounts" that push #antisemitism to discredit the party has been widely shared. I don't doubt that goes on and state actors are most likely involved, but Asa's article seems to be a big hit with people who actually do hold a/s views. /1 
These people, many Labour members, seem oblivious to the irony of blaming anonymous trolls, presumably acting on behalf of Israel or the Tories, for spreading antisemitic poison that they themselves regularly promote. One such character is Charles Chiverton of Mansfield CLP. /2
Like his fellow Mansfield CLP comrades Jeff Bowler and Roland Laycock, whose antisemitism I highlighted yesterday, Charles Chiverton believes the concerns about antisemitism in the Labour Party are largely a smear campaign to undermine pro-Corbyn and pro-Palestinian activists. /3
Yes, political opponents cynically exploit the #antisemitism issue and likely deploy fake accounts to so. But as Labour members we have a duty to practise what we preach regarding #antiracism. So I asked Chiverton if fake profiles had forced him to post antisemitic material. /4
As seems to be the pattern, comrade Chiverton had posted some breathtakingly #antisemitic articles, memes and comments of his own, but I only got to share this small snapshot of his previous work before he told me to shove it where socialism don't shine and blocked comments. /6
Another Labour comrade, Chris Bright, spotted the exchange in his newsfeed and chipped in to explain that the posts I'd highlighted were racist against Jews and mostly came from far-right sites. (See, most of us Labour lefties do understand this!) Chiverton blocked him too. /7
The Charles Chiverton collage I shared earlier in the thread may have strained eyes, so here's the sort of thing it featured. The usual antisemitic conspiracy crap about the Rothschilds' nefarious ways and - nice touch, Charles! - a link to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. /8
Chiverton's antisemitic posts include these about "how Israel controls US foreign policy" (hey, tails don't actually wag dogs, comrade), a bit of Gilad Atzmon (just for the music?), "Nazi-Zionist collaboration" and Zionists creating a "second #Holocaust minus the gas chamber". /9
Oh, and he's got a thing about "parasites" too. Actually, that's just Charles Chiverton's affectionate way of describing Jewish Labour MPs such as Margaret Hodge and Luciana Berger. He reckons the former needs "lanceing end of" [sic]. Perhaps that's a new selection procedure? /10
Anyway, Charles Chiverton let his friends know that a "muppet called Steven Cook" [sic] was "doing the rounds touting antisemitic BS" and advised them to unfriend me. Solidarity was forthcoming and Mansfield CLP comrade Jeff Bowler suggested they get me banned from Facebook. /11
Please allow me to introduce Paul Thompson, a fellow Labour leftwinger, who made a valiant effort to engage Chiverton and explain why his posts were antisemitic. But comrade Charles was "sick to death" of people attacking those who supported the Palestinian people's cause. /12
Some of Charles Chiverton's friends and family joined the discussion, but - unlike my Twitter threads - didn't last long. The apparent note of agreement at the end was just the cue for Chiverton to add Paul Thompson to his block list. /13
It's disappointing that such attitudes persist in our party. I don't believe these antisemitic views are held by anything more than a small minority of the membership, but they do cause damage to the cause and real hurt and anxiety to the Jewish community. /14
Some may say it's freedom of speech or just another person saying stupid things on the internet. But imagine seeing hateful ideas and conspiracy theories ABOUT YOU on social media every day being expressed by people who present themselves as Labour Party members. It's not on.
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