Modern Britain: Disinformation On Social Media Inflames Anti-Immigration Riots
The spreading of lies and misinformation led by anti-immigrant extremists following the murder of three children, is an example of the wider use of fake news and disinformation to provoke and inflame racial tension in Britain.
Events is the US leading up to the 2022 riots in the Washington Capitol were a precursor to the painful and divisive events in Britain this week.
In the case of Southport, the seaside town where three schoolgirls were knifed to death, the misinformation focused on the false claim that the person responsible for their death was a Muslim asylum seeker who had arrived in the country illegally.
Algorithms that send the most outrageous comments viral across social media platforms and generate a chain reaction of anger and disinformation made the riots that followed the murder of these children almost inevitable.
Organised by anti-immigrant groups, including the racist, anti-Muslim English Defence League (EDL) on social media platforms and messaging apps, rioters gathered and began violent demonstrations.
More broadly, misinformation has also been used to spread the idea that high levels of immigration and violent crime are linked, and incorrect claims have been made that foreigners, notably Muslims, present a particular threat to children.
British police and politicians are accused of failing to protect those who view themselves as the 'indigenous population'.
Claims of “two-tier policing” - that senior officers are more lenient towards ethnic minorities when they protest - are also being promoted by political activists on social media. “What will it take for you to be angry enough to do something about this?” asked Tommy Robinson, the former leader of the anti-immigrant EDL on one of his social media accounts.
Factually, a 2024 IPSOS survey found 52% of people believed current immigration levels to the UK to be too high, compared to 42% who gave that response when asked in the previous survey, two years earlier.
The elimination of editorial controls that self-publishing on social media permits means that those seeking to provoke violence can do so without worrying about facts. Furthermore, there are claims that foreign-owned websites are actively spreading disinformation which is spread by extremists groups.
According to the latest reports more than 400 people have been arrested by the police for getting involved in numerous incidents of violent disorder across England and Norther Ireland.
Anti-immigrant groups are understood to be organising further violent protests targeting asylum and immigration centres across the country. These almost unprecedented events are exacerbated by
misinformation on the social media platform X /Twitter which has been blamed for helping to fuel racist attacks.
These problems have not been helped by tweets by Elon Musk, the owner of the X/Twitter platform, saying the the UK is heading to 'civil war' - a comment swiftly rejected by British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.
IPSOS | Times Radio | BBC | Guardan | Independent | aa.com | @elonmusk
Images: Stephen Barnes & Ideogram
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