Kano's photo used instead of Wiley in major anti-semitism article error

30 July 2020, 10:12 | Updated: 30 July 2020, 10:16

A picture of Grime star Kano was used in an article addressing Wiley's recent anti-Semitic posts.

Update: 30/07/20

The Guardian have issued an official apoligy to Kano, Owen Jones and their readers over incorrectly using a picture of Kano instead of Wiley.

The apology reads: 'A Guadian article by Owen Jones about racism on social media today mistakenly carried a photograph of Kano. The Guardian apologises unreservedly to Kano and our readers for the error, which was corrected when it was spotted. We would also like to clarify that Owne Jones was not involved in this error.'.

Original article: 29/07/20

In a shocking turn of events, Grime star and Top Boy actor Kano found himself accidentally thrust into the debate around Wiley's anti-Semitic posts after his image was used in an article on the subject.

> Wiley banned from Instagram and Facebook over anti-Semitic abuse

In an opinion piece by journalist Owen Jones, The Guardian used a picture of Kano on stage instead of Wiley and have received huge backlash online after the mistake went viral.

The error was quickly picked up by people on social media with one person writing, 'the @guardian using a picture of Kano this morning instead of Wiley in an article about racism really just says it all. how many people had to see this piece before it went live???? do f****ng better'.

The Guardian have responded with a statement which reads, 'The main picture on this article was changed on 29 July 2020 after a picture of Kano was used in error'.

But that hasn't stopped the continued backlash and conversation about a lack of diversity being a contributing factor to these ongoing mistakes by large publications.

After news of the major mistake went viral, East London rapper Kano, who was recently nominated for the 2021 Mercury Prize with his album 'Hoodies All Summer', spoke out about the incident.

Reacting to his picture being used in the article, Kano responded by posting a screenshot of the error on Instagram and writing, 'Won’t leave this up because I don’t want my likeness to be associated with this rhetoric for any longer than it already has. But YO @guardian/ @owenjones84, I’m the other black rapper from East London. Fix up. (@variety and @bbc for that matter, too. It’s not okay. Do better.)'

The article's author, journalist Owen Jones, cleared up confusion that he had something to do with the photo mistake after he was attacked on social media following the error.

Jones tweeted, 'I'm absolutely horrified to see this terrible photo mistake made after my piece was signed off yesterday, and want to apologise profusely on behalf of The Guardian.'

He went on to say, 'To be absolutely clear with everyone: I did not choose the photo or sign it off, writers never do at newspapers, and I completely understand everyone's anger.'

Other black British stars have seen similar incidents occur, with Stormzy's photo mistakenly being used instead of footballer Romelu Lukaku in Irish newspaper The Herald.

At the time, Stormzy tweeted, “I don’t find none of this funny btw. Don’t wanna sound like the party pooper who missed the joke…” and the newspaper responded with an apology.

Editor Alan Steen son wrote, “Earlier, we made an error with a picture of Romelu Lukaku that wasn’t him. It was Stormzy. To be honest, we are totally embarrassed and want to say sorry to all involved and our readers for the error. We will keep our eye on the ball in future.”

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