A court in Essex convicted a man, an asylum seeker, of sexual assault this month. But within hours, commentators, headlines, and politicians were already turning the Essex asylum seeker case into a weapon. From ‘feral’ to ‘pure evil’: how the Essex asylum seeker scapegoating spiralled onlineX lit up with takes that didn’t stop at condemning the man. It frames asylum seekers not as human beings but as a dangerous pack. It does not mean smearing thousands of asylum seekers, vilifying those who support them, or inflaming hate for political gain.