Urgent action is needed to tackle the “tsunami of lies” on social media which fanned the flames of protest across the UK, a leading expert on right-wing extremism has said.
Professor Matthew Feldman said that within 30 hours of fake news emerging online about the suspect in the Southport stabbings, it had spread across multiple platforms, and sparked protests that led to 53 police officers being hurt.
He welcomed UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer’s announcement of a new “national” response to the violent disorder but called for a corresponding response online.
Prof Feldman told the PA news agency: “Tougher laws are needed. There has been much debate about the long delayed Online Harms Bill.
“It is difficult to think of a much better example of online harms breaching the real world than a fake story demonising Muslims and people of colour and leading to riots on the streets.
“This is only the latest wake-up call to a problem that we know exists and continues to get worse. I don’t doubt the social media companies would prefer this not to be on their platform but I strongly feel they are not doing enough.
“There is planned to be a protest in Sunderland tonight. Tomorrow there seem to be protests planned in Hull, Liverpool and Cardiff although that number seems to grow by the hour. There are more than a dozen planned for this weekend alone.
“I would encourage thinking about a taskforce, not just policing boots on the ground but an internet taskforce that can do the same, not just moving around the country physically, but moving around the platforms to take down misinformation and incitement.
“We would only be looking at the minor part of the picture if we did not take seriously the way in which misinformation and lies on social media led us to this very heart-breaking point.”
One of the earliest pieces of misinformation emerged on a fake news social media account at around 5pm July 30, he said.
It quickly spread across multiple platforms and was amplified by high profile social media accounts which “fanned the flames” of the initial disinformation.
Prof Feldman said: “That then spread its tentacles to a story that this was a Muslim extremist targeting little girls who had come on a boat from Syria and being monitored by security services.
“Now, none of that is true, but it seemed to galvanise anti-Muslim prejudice in parts of the country and has left Muslims, and others who do not want to see disorder and violence on the street, with real alarm in recent days.”
Prof Feldman praised the Government’s quick policing response to the crisis but said: “I would urge them to go further and do something which has equal teeth and speed to be able to counter this tsunami of lies that have all too often spread on social media.”
While far right groups such as Patriotic Alternative had “fanned the flames” online, the wider issue was how quickly misinformation was spreading across multiple platforms, he said.
He said: “These people were players in a larger story which is ultimately about disinformation and the way it can motivate people who are angry or hurt to take matters into their own hands.
“Let us not forget within 30 hours of these lies being circulated on social media, 53 police officers were injured in Southport. That’s how quickly online misinformation can turn into offline harm.”
Such street mobilisation has not been seen in the UK for nearly a decade and the era of the English Defence League (EDL), he said.
Unlike earlier protests, the recent unrest appeared to have no central movement co-ordinating events, the expert suggested.
Prof Feldman said: “Instead it seems to be more a case of de-centralised online networks pushing lies and disinformation to take advantage of a tragedy – this horrific stabbing and the deaths and injuries that were the result.”
While that was arguably the “trigger”, Prof Feldman suggested the recent change of Government may have “emboldened” and “galvanised” existing groups into taking advantage of the fluid situation during the summer months.
Prof Feldman rejected claims the EDL were linked to the unrest, saying the use of chants associated with the former group acted as “signals” to effectively convey the menacing message: “Muslims beware”.
He said the EDL had “not existed in any meaningful sense” for a decade and had no public online footprint.
Other groups, such as Patriotic Alternative, had tried to “ride on the coat tails” of disorder to raise their profile or create greater threats to community cohension and anti-Muslim politics, Prof Feldman said.
But Prof Feldman, of Academic Consulting Services, said: “I don’t think there is a single culprit here so much as radicalisers, a few of whom are locals but it seems a large number are coming from outside the cities to cause trouble.
“The original culprit, it seems, is disinformation.”
