'Ridiculous': Social media reacts as Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur denied entry to UK

'Ridiculous': Social media reacts as Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur denied entry to UK Submitted by Hannah. Smith on Mon, 06/01/2026 - 15:04 Home Office's decision to deny the pair's ETAs generated widespread backlash, with users accusing the government of cracking down on criticism of Israel Hasan Piker speaks onstage during Politicon 2018 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in California on 20 October 2018 (Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Politicon/AFP) Off After American political commentators Cenk Uygur and Hasan Piker confirmed on Monday that the UK government had blocked their entry into the country, social media was flooded with reactions debating restrictions on free speech in Britain and accusing the government of clamping down on the right to express criticism of the Israeli government. The pair were due to attend the SXSW festival in London and had been scheduled to speak at the Oxford Union, a prestigious debating society, where Piker had previously delivered a speech criticising America’s support for Israel and arguing that the media played a key role in manufacturing consent for Israeli violations of international law.