Did social media fan the flames of riot in Southport?
Police said online disinformation helped to spark a riot after three children were killed in Southport. Photo by Getty Images
BBC
It’s become a familiar pattern of events: a violent, terrifying attack unfolds, innocent people are killed, and social media is set alight with unfounded - and often incorrect - accusations about the assailant's identity and what the motivation was.
Think back to the stabbing attacks in Sydney earlier this year, falsely blamed on a Jewish student, or even the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in July.
It’s the same with last Monday’s attack on a children’s holiday dance and yoga session in Southport, England.
A false name - attributed to the 17-year-old accused of killing three little girls as well as injuring eight other children and two adults - spread like wildfire across X, formerly known as Twitter.
The BBC is not repeating the false name here to avoid spreading misinformation. Media organisations cannot give the suspect's real name for legal reasons, but Merseyside Police have said the name shared on social media is incorrect.
Nevertheless, posts on X sharing the fake name were actively promoted to users and racked up millions of views.
Just as with the Sydney attacks and the attempted shooting of Mr Trump, X was the focal point for untrue claims before they spilled onto other sites.
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