A petition to get Mark Townsend of The Guardian and The Observer removed for gross misconduct, blackmail and the doxxing of an anonymous content creator.

On the 21st of June 2020, activist Mark Townsend wrote a story with the sole aim to publicise the personal details of the anonymous Youtube commentator known as “The Iconoclast”. The article featured his full name, as well as details of his past and a description of the methods used to determine his identity.

To reveal somebody’s personal details in a national newspaper, it must surely be proven that doing so is in the public interest. The article states “campaigners said the unmasking of Atkinson was important because he is emblematic of the latest manifestation of the far right.” We, the undersigned, do not consider this sufficient cause for placing The Iconoclast at risk from the activists who oppose him - especially those who we know have a lengthy history of violence against those labelled ‘far right’ by the mainstream press.

It is also worth noting that The Observer chose to wait until The Iconoclast’s channel had been banned from YouTube before releasing the article, thus preventing him from responding to a wide audience and countering the many unfair claims made about him in the piece. The video commentaries he produced were always backed up by official statistics and reports from verified sources, and in some cases even from The Guardian itself.

More concerning was the fact that the ‘anti racism’ charity HOPE not Hate seem to have had a hand in assisting Townsend with the piece. The Iconoclast was mentioned in their annual ‘State of Hate’ report this year, and we believe Townsend will have received information about him from this group. HOPE not Hate have faced serious allegations in recent years which include blackmail, targeted harassment, spying on and tracking the movements of political figures without their knowledge and providing information about private events to far-left extremists which have subsequently led to violent confrontations.

The email that The Iconoclast received from Townsend contained many more personal details that did not appear in the article:

Hey Daniel,

We are running an article this weekend revealing you - Daniel XXX from XXX Street - as the individual behind "The Iconoclast" YouTube channel and magazine. We have pieced together your identity from numerous sources, which have been carefully analysed and then corroborated with other sources. These sources - on numerous social media platforms - have been downloaded, verified, screen grabbed and saved. We know you were born in XXX studied XXX University, graduating in 201X before moving to XXX where you attempted to establish XXX before returning to the XXX in 201X.

Since this information did not make it into the article, it is reasonable to infer that this email was designed to intimidate, presumably with a view to scaring him into silence. A Daily Mail journalist recently visited the house of one of his family members looking for a follow-up story, which we also find highly concerning.

We, the undersigned, believe that The Observer should release Mark Townsend from his role for professional misconduct.