The Times: Fake news has caused riots against Muslims in Southport, England
The British newspaper The Times has reported that false allegations on a disturbing news website have sparked a wave of anger in the city of Southport (north-west England), based on the murder of three young girls that occurred in the city early last Monday. .
The town of Southport, near the city of Liverpool, witnessed violent confrontations that day between a group of right-wing extremists and British police outside the Southport Islamic Society Mosque. The mosque was surrounded when violence broke out on Tuesday evening, and more than 50 police officers were injured as far-right attackers shouted slogans of hatred against Islam and Muslims.
The Times has reported that the "Channel 3 Now" website published fake and misleading news online that falsely linked a fake asylum seeker to the stabbing of the three children.
This lie quickly spread in a period of less than 24 hours and became a big violence and riot, which the newspaper has described as one of the fastest spreading false campaigns in the UK in the era of social media.
On the other hand, the British BBC News television has reported that the suspect of the murder was born in Cardiff to parents of Rwandan origin and moved to Southport in 2013 and is not a Muslim immigrant seeking asylum as claimed.
According to the Times newspaper, Channel 3 Now has apologized and deleted the post it was broadcasting on the X platform (formerly Twitter), but the name of the Muslim who claimed to be the perpetrator of the crime is still circulating online.
