THE SNP demanded action from Facebook owners Meta today, arguing a Reform UK video posted on the platform attacking Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar “crosses the line into race-baiting.”

The call comes months after Meta boss and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg came under fire for ditching fact-checkers on the platform, claiming they “have been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they’ve created.” 

The paid-for Facebook advertisement features a clip from a speech made by Mr Sarwar in 2022, urging more people from Pakistani and South Asian backgrounds to get involved in politics.

But the ad cuts his speech mid-sentence and is preceded by a banner stating: “Anas Sarwar has said he will prioritise the Pakistani community.”

The video ends with the claim that “only Reform UK will prioritise the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse," urging people to vote in the by-election on June 5, in what Mr Sarwar has himself described as a “very deliberate dog whistle."

Slamming Reform UK leader Nigel Farage’s party as “chancers who want to play on people’s fears," he added: “They want to try and question my identity, my belonging and my loyalty to the country in which I was born, the country with which I identify, the country in which my children were born.

“I am a Scot, a proud Scot. Having worked in Scotland’s NHS, I want to deliver a fairer and better Scotland.”

Defending the clip, a spokesperson for Reform UK claimed it “advertised Anas Sarwar’s own words, if he doesn’t like them, he shouldn’t use them.”

But now, in letter shared with the Daily Record newspaper, SNP chief executive Carol Beattie has written to Meta to lodge a formal complaint about the video they agreed to publish.

Urging the multi-billion-dollar social media giant to “review the video, remove the content, and apply appropriate sanctions,” Ms Beattie wrote: “The video strongly criticises Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, for promoting the inclusion of the Pakistani community in Scotland and portrays this kind of engagement with the Pakistani community in Scotland in a disparaging and negative manner.

“I strongly believe this content crosses the line into race-baiting and scapegoating, framing the support of a long-established ethnic minority community as a threat to the living standards of people in Scotland.

“It appears designed to provoke division, stir racial resentment, and marginalise Pakistani residents in Scotland.”

Meta has been approached for comment.