Ask, Don't Assume: Disability Rights UK deletes ‘misjudged’ post on ads

A leading charity has deleted a post that branded the government's latest disability campaign "murderous".

Disability Rights UK (DRUK) said its initial response to the Ask, Don't Assume advertisements was "inappropriate" and "misjudged".

The campaign features disabled people wearing T-shirts with slogans on them, but it was criticised by some for being insensitive and intrusive.

The government said it worked with disabled people to create the campaign.

The adverts aim to highlight the need to check if someone wants assistance, and not to make assumptions about the capabilities of someone with a disability, and went public on Tuesday.

They feature three people wearing messages on their T-shirts, including a wheelchair-user wearing a top with "don't push it" printed on it, a woman holding a white cane with "can't touch this" and a woman with scarring on her arms with "one of a kind".

But the campaign has drawn criticism on social media since its launch, with some claiming it could open disabled people up to insensitive and intrusive questions about their disability.

And in its now-deleted post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday, DRUK wrote it did not "support the government's ridiculous attempt to purple-wash their murderous ableist policies by using some disabled influencers to 'raise awareness' about disability".

Purple is the colour associated with disability, and ableism relates to discrimination that favours non-disabled people above disabled people.

Dan White, DRUK's policy and campaigns officer, told the BBC podcast, Access All the post had been removed due to "inappropriate language" and it "should have been worded better".

"It was a fast-moving, emotional response with, sadly, inappropriate language," he said.

"It was deleted because the language was misjudged and it could and should have been worded better."

LISTEN: You can hear Disability Rights UK explain its thought behind its post, on the latest episode of Access All.

He added: "We have to understand that we all get emotional in this community from time to time. We still need to speak truth to power, but there are better ways of doing that."

Mr White, whose daughter is disabled, said there were positives to draw from the campaign such as the inclusion of disabled people in creating it and the intention behind it.

He said the anger originated from the fact the government was focused on this rather than what he said were more serious inequality matters.

"Adults, children and carers cannot afford medication, can't afford fuel, can't afford food. Income isn't enough to keep people alive and we see this over the winter months, the excess deaths," he said.

"These are things that the government should be campaigning about."

Among those to voice their criticism of the Ask, Don't Assume campaign was TV presenter Sophie Morgan.

Morgan posted: "My thoughts on the new #AskDontAssume Campaign. Please, don't #ask. We will let you know if we need you for anything. Otherwise you can #assume we are just fine. Thanks."

Activist Dr Amy Kavanagh, who is visually impaired, said she was disappointed by the lack of resources available to educate and inform people - calling the new campaign "fluffy".

She has been running a similar campaign for the past five years called Just Ask, Don't Grab, encouraging people to share their experiences online.

She posted that the campaign "expects disabled people to be educators in the face of discrimination".

The government's Equality Hub, which is behind the campaign, said it was "committed to ensuring disabled people are treated with respect and dignity".

It said in a statement: "Ask, Don't Assume was developed in partnership with, and informed by, disabled people and their representative organisations from across the country."

The posters will be visible for the next 10 weeks, before the whole project is reviewed.

You can listen to the podcast and find information and support on the BBC Access All page. If you've got a story get in touch with Beth by emailing [email protected]