Debunked: How did social media fuel the Southport rioters?

Debunked: How did social media fuel the Southport rioters?The Independent

Transcript

00:00How did online disinformation lead to people rioting outside a mosque in Southport?

00:05Well, the seaside town is in mourning after three children were stabbed to death during a dance class.

00:10While the suspect's identity remains undisclosed, police have revealed that he was a 17-year-old from Banks in Lancashire, born in Cardiff.

00:19Well, this website, posing as a news organisation, incorrectly claimed that the suspect was called Ali al-Shukarti.

00:26They also falsely claim that he's an asylum seeker who arrived by boat last year.

00:31This post racked up two million views on X before it was deleted.

00:36Sources in the Home Office told The Independent that an investigation is being carried out on the origin of the social media posts,

00:43after false claims about the suspect were amplified by the far-right online.

00:48Crowds gathered outside a mosque in Southport, leading to 39 officers being injured, including 27 who needed hospital treatment.

00:56According to Mark Owen-Jones, a disinformation research associate professor,

01:01there were at least 27 million impressions on social media posts,

01:05stating or speculating that the attacker was Muslim, a migrant, refugee or a foreigner.

01:12But the police have confirmed that this was not his name and that he was born in Wales to Rwandan parents.

01:18It's also a criminal offence to identify a suspect who is a minor, at least until legal proceedings have completed.

01:25And the website making these claims has a track record of spreading fake news.

01:30Take a look at this from a few weeks ago.

01:32Channel 3 Now were claiming that Trump's attempted assassination was carried out by a Chinese man,

01:38but we now know that that is fake news.

01:41Even MP Nigel Farage weighed in on this and was accused of inciting the riot by posting this video.

01:48I just wonder whether the truth is being withheld from us. I don't know.

01:53Meanwhile, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper warned about this exact rhetoric.

01:58False information has already been extensively shared.

02:02Those who do this for their own purposes risk undermining a crucial criminal investigation.

02:08Think critically when you see anything online, no matter who it's been posted by.