Protesters against illegal immigration after a knife attack in Southport clash with police in London, England, July 31, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)
The unrest that has lasted for more than a week in the UK erupted after a knife attack in northwest England, which left three girls dead and 10 injured. Violent protests quickly spread to many major cities in the UK, with serious consequences.
Police have arrested about 480 people for causing trouble and attacking police. More than 100 police officers were injured in clashes with protesters, some seriously. The wave of riots has not yet subsided.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer asked security forces to maintain a high state of alert due to the risk of further violence. About 6,000 riot police are ready to fight. This is the largest police mobilisation in the UK since 2011.
Responsibility for social networks
Worryingly, the serious security and social consequences mentioned above originated from false rumours on social networks, about the identity and religion of the suspect who caused the attack in England.
Within hours of the attack, social networks were flooded with false information about the suspect, claiming that the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker who came to the UK illegally by boat in 2023 and was on the terrorist watch list.
British authorities were quick to deny the false information, confirming that the suspect was born in the UK to Rwandan parents who arrived in the UK in 2002.
However, such efforts failed to quell the wave of riots. Many people took advantage of social media to incite violence, calling on people to take to the streets to protest against immigration and attack mosques and asylum seekers from Africa and the Middle East.
Analysts say that fake news on social media has left real consequences for the UK as violent protests broke out, hundreds of people were arrested, and many stores were looted, causing material damage and also creating cracks in the national unity bloc in the UK.
British police warn that the violence is not over yet as many sabotage plans continue to spread online.
Analysts say that fake news on social media has left real consequences for the UK as violent protests broke out, hundreds of people were arrested, and many stores were looted, causing material damage and also creating cracks in the national unity bloc in the UK.
British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated that social media companies must bear part of the responsibility for spreading false information leading to the outbreak of violence. While flyers about the time and location of protests were widely circulated on Facebook, violent videos appeared on TikTok, WhatsApp, and Telegram applications, which were used to call on people to take to the streets to protest.
The anti-terrorism organisation Tech Against Terrorism has issued an urgent warning about Telegram being used by extremists to call for protests. According to the organisation, Telegram's failure to adequately censor extremist content has contributed to violence and unrest across the UK.
Jacob Davey, director of policy and research at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), affirmed that the wave of misinformation on social media was one of the main causes of the recent series of riots in the UK. According to Mr Jacob Davey, misinformation is spread not only by those who want to incite violence but also by platforms using algorithms to prioritise displaying content that is likely to attract the most interactions.
Challenge of information management
The proliferation of fake news on social media is not a new story in the era of strong development of information technology and artificial intelligence. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres once emphasised that part of the internet is being turned into a toxic "dumping ground", where false information is spreading and is exploited by extremists to cause social division. However, finding a comprehensive solution to this painful problem is still a thorny issue that has not been solved for many countries, including the UK.
After the riots broke out, British authorities asked technology giants to prevent the spread of toxic content on social media. Some online platforms quickly responded to the British Government's call by deleting flagged posts. Telegram's moderation team is actively monitoring the situation, deleting channels and posts with content calling for violence.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prosecution Service has decided to prosecute a man for inciting hatred online after posting threatening, abusive and racially-charged posts on Facebook. British authorities have vowed to take a tough stance against those who incite violence online.
However, these are considered to be only temporary solutions to solve immediate difficulties. Experts say that measures to prevent harmful information on social networks should not stop at requiring technology companies to remove or correct false and inappropriate content.
In the long term, to deal with the root cause of fake news on social networks, London needs to issue strict regulations on online information security.
An Online Safety Bill was passed into law in October but has yet to be implemented. It gives media regulator Ofcom the power to fine social media companies up to 10% of global turnover if they are found in breach of the law, for example by failing to police content inciting violence or terrorism.
But Ofcom is still drawing up guidelines outlining how to implement the law, with enforcement not expected until early next year. In the wake of recent violence, some are calling for the rules to be rolled out sooner.
Adam Leon Smith, a fellow at industry body BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, wants Ofcom to start enforcing the Online Safety Act as soon as possible.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasised that digital technology offers great opportunities to build a more equal, sustainable and peaceful future for all people, but harmful information online can erode trust, cause tension, and even sow the seeds of violence and conflict.
The incident of spreading fake news and inciting violent protests, contributing to the wave of riots in the UK, not only exposed the negative aspects of social networks but also once again sounded the alarm bell for countries about the urgent need to firmly handle the problem of toxic information and build a healthy environment in cyberspace.
