Nigel Farage said he would do nothing for the black community.
While Mr Farage did say this, the quote circulating online has been taken out of context, as the video stops mid-sentence before Mr Farage completes his comments. He went on to say: “I couldn’t give a damn whether you’re black or white, whether you’re gay or straight. I really don’t care. You’ll be judged by your character.”
A video of Reform UK leader and Clacton MP Nigel Farage has been shared on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook, claiming Mr Farage “says he will do nothing for the black community”. But this clip is missing important context.
In the clip, Mr Farage says: “What was I going to do for the black community? Do you know what I said? ‘Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I couldn’t give a damn’.”
The video being shared online cuts Mr Farage off mid-sentence, whereas, in the full video, he actually says “I couldn’t give a damn whether you’re black or white”.
This clip comes from a video posted on YouTube by Canadian academic Jordan Peterson, who interviewed Mr Farage on 2 July 2024. The full interview lasts for around 50 minutes.
The shortened video was shared alongside a caption that said: “Nigel Farage says he will do nothing for the black community”. But this was just part of a response Mr Farage gave to comments made by Mr Peterson about community and identity.
Mr Farage’s full response was: “I want us to completely abolish the diversity and inclusion laws, completely abolish the Equalities Act that was brought in by the Labour party in 2010 and which the Conservatives haven’t had the guts to even talk about, because they’re cowards.
“And I want us to basically say we don’t care. We don’t care what you are. I was asked the other day what I was going to do for the black community. Do you know what I said? ‘Nothing. Absolutely nothing’. I couldn’t give a damn whether you’re black or white, whether you’re gay or straight. I really don’t care. You’ll be judged by your character. You’ll be judged by your ability. You’ll be judged by ‘are you a contributor to society, or a taker out?’.
False or misleading claims online have the potential to harm individuals, groups and democratic processes and institutions. Online claims can spread fast and far, and are difficult to contain and correct.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as missing context Mr Farage’s comments have been taken out of context, and he went on to say that he didn’t care if someone was “black or white”.
Full Fact fights for good, reliable information in the media, online, and in politics.
Bad information ruins lives. It promotes hate, damages people’s health, and hurts democracy. You deserve better.