“He loves this country. He didn’t deserve to be humiliated,” Sultan Bey says of his autistic brother, who has gone viral this week in a vox pop interview filmed by GB News in Brixton.
In a social media clip viewed millions of times, a GB News correspondent is seen stopping members of the public on the streets and asking them about British values and historical figures, like Alfred the Great.
One young Londoner, visibly uncertain but infused with enthusiasm, responds to the interviewer’s questions with hesitation: “Erm, well… What I would say about these people is they’re just doing what they’ve got to do, you know?”
“I was born in South London in 1997, it is my home… Yeah, Britain is my home,” and continues, “It’s amazing… Things have changed for good,” he says.
To some, the exchange might have seemed awkward or endearing. But according to his family, it was immediately clear what had happened: he had been targeted, dressed down without fully knowing what he was getting himself into, and made into viral content by a national broadcaster – all while living with autism.
Talking to The London Economic, his brother Sultan Bey has revealed the experience has left the family reeling, not just because of the mockery, but because of the deeper betrayal by a platform that should have known better in his view.
“Now, my first point of reaction when seeing the video was a frustration towards my brother because we’ve told him, please stay off social media, don’t let yourself get recorded, don’t let people record you,” Sultan says.
“Because even though he has good intentions and he thinks that people are smiling and laughing with him, he doesn’t understand that a lot of people are laughing at him.”
The clip, cut and packaged for social media, quickly spread. Sultan claims what was thought to be a light-hearted moment in his brother’s eyes was edited into a form of ridicule, shared for engagement rather than understanding.
“It was also a point of anger, anger towards GB News, because if you go and look at GB News and what they posted on Instagram, what they posted on YouTube, what they posted on TikTok, it was clipped in a way to make my brother look stupid.”
He adds: “Now, obviously my brother suffers from autism and a news company should be at a place of position of care where they can see that this is an individual that is clearly neurodivergent. You can tell that there’s something up here and you shouldn’t post something like this on social media.”
The emotional toll has been sharp. His brother, who regularly uses social media, has read the comments, including the many that are racist or openly mocking.
“We’re furious at GB News because the type of comments on the video and the types of things that have been said about my brother and my family, both rude and racist, it’s been so much.”
‘My brother loves Britain’
“He went into that interview thinking that they’re asking him why does he love Britain? And he does love Britain.”
Sultan describes his brother as someone with a deep affection for London, a photographic memory, and a genuine enthusiasm for his home country.
“If you speak to my brother, he can probably tell you the whole Tube line, from Victoria to Northern Line, every stop on the Tube, he can tell you off the top of his head because autistic people have superpowers where they can remember things that the normal person couldn’t.
“He loves London, he loves being British.”
To see him turned into a viral figure, not for his passions, but as the subject of online ridicule, has been painful for him.
“To see how he’s been treated, to see how people have spoken about him saying that he doesn’t belong here, saying that he should go back home… racist comments, whether to me or in my DMs as well, it’s just been not nice.
“They’ve put it out in a way to ridicule and humiliate my brother.”
Although the family has long urged him to avoid media interactions, Sultan claims the blame lies with GB News, not his brother.
“At the same time, this isn’t my brother’s fault and he has been exploited, and a news company that should be responsible shouldn’t be posting this out there.”
He fumes: “Obviously he’s autistic, he’s got key carers that GB News should have reached out to before even putting this out. And we did not consent for this to go out. And I don’t think he consented for this to go out. He didn’t write a written confirmation that this should go out. It’s ridiculous.
“This has left a bad, bad taste.”
To Sultan, the intent behind the video seems clear and deeply rooted in exclusionary views of who counts as “truly” British.
“I think this just shows GB News have an agenda. I don’t know much about them, but they clearly have an audience that is quite, ‘oh, if you’re coloured, you’re not British.’ Then they’ve gone to Brixton to video people and ask them about British values. I think they know exactly what they’re doing.
“They’re force-feeding their agenda that black people are not British.”
He adds: “We were born and raised in England. That makes us British. We have British passports. We love the country.”
As public criticism of the vox pop grows, Sultan hopes this painful episode will raise awareness – not just of how neurodivergent individuals are treated by the media, but of how narratives about belonging continue to be shaped by those behind the camera.
“I’m not the only person with an autistic brother. I’m sure every single person in this world knows someone who has learning difficulties. It’s not easy. And these people should not be taken advantage of and exploited for views.”
A GB News spokesman told The London Economic: “The clip is one of a number GB News has broadcast, and which forms part of a longer documentary examining what Britishness and British values mean to different people.
“We’d encourage people to watch the documentary, and make their own minds up.”
The journalist who conducted the interview commented on X: “I haven’t seen so much hysteria over a vox pop in my life. That’s what we do sometimes – interview the public. Sometimes they look good, or bad, or neutral. People can make up their own minds.
“I didn’t trap him or force home to do an interview. I asked the same questions to everyone. Endless virtue signalling nonsense.”