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Recruitment boss accused of running Traitorbase doxxing campaign

newsOct 10, 202613252

Tom Watson, a recruitment firm owner from Worcester, is accused of operating an X account called Big Time Charlie that created a so-called Traitorbase used to publish personal details of RNLI staff, anti-racism activists and business executives who recruit black, Asian and minority ethnic workers. The Big Time Charlie account, which had almost 50,000 followers and a history of racist comments, was deactivated shortly after campaign group Hope Not Hate publicly named Watson and after the Guardian approached him for comment. Hope Not Hate and the Guardian say the account used AI to scrape LinkedIn and other sites to compile the Traitorbase. Targets included Chantelle Lunt, a Green party councillor in Merseyside, who reported to police after details about her appeared on a spreadsheet circulated by the account. The account also posted photographs and names of executives said to hire minority ethnic staff, and a targeted charity spokesperson called the activity a cynical attempt to spread misinformation and sow division. The X account frequently praised the hard-right MP Rupert Lowe and claimed a £2,500 donation plus membership of Lowe’s Cromwell Club. The immediate consequence was the account’s removal and police involvement by at least one target; affected organisations say they must spend time countering misinformation rather than focusing on their programmes.

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