UK riots: Home Secretary demands action from social media giants

Social media giants must “take responsibility” over the “shocking misinformation” that contributed to riots breaking out across the UK over the weekend, says Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.

Over the weekend far-right groups rioted in towns and cities across the country, triggered by the stabbing of three young girls in the northwest town of Southport.

Claims that the suspected murderer was an immigrant spread across social media platforms but were proven false when police named the suspect as Cardiff-born Axel Rudakubana.

The false claims, amplified by right-wing political voices, led to Islamophobic and anti-immigration groups mobilising mass protests across the country.

Among the disorder, two Holiday Inn hotels which were reportedly hosting asylum seekers have been damaged, mosques vandalised, and cities including Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester and Belfast have seen violent attacks and threats against Black and Asian people.

Cooper’s comments come after X owner, Elon Musk, responded to a video of protestors aiming fireworks at the police with the post: “civil war is inevitable.”

“There’s been some shocking misinformation that has escalated some of this, but then there’s also been deliberate organisation of violence as well,” she said on the BBC’s Today programme.

How to check for misinformation

“You can’t just have the armchair thuggery of the people being able to incite and organise violence and also not face consequences for this.”

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also criticised social media platforms for the role they played in the recent riots. He said that “violent disorder clearly whipped up online” is a crime.

Mark Jones, partner at legal services firm, Payne Hicks Beach, said in response to this: “but what about the individual posting the misinformation in the first place?”

Jones points to the recent Online Safety Act 2023, which he says could have been “a pivotal moment in the way we tackle harms caused by misinformation.”

“However, the final Act falls short of the Government’s original intention of making the UK the safest place to be online.

The only references to misinformation in the Act are about setting up a committee to advise Ofcom and changes to Ofcom’s media literacy policy.”

He adds that while there is a new false communications offence in the Act that outlaws the intentional sending of false information that could cause psychological or physical harm, this is mainly aimed at internet trolls and does not cover events such as last week.

“Instead, the police are likely to have to rely on offences under the Public Order Act 1986, which is the main piece of legislation which penalises the use of violence and/or intimidation by individuals in groups,” Jones explained.

He acknowledged the Home Secretary’s comments, saying “if it’s a crime offline, it’s a crime online,” but added: “The Online Safety Act provides no additional support to the pre-existing criminal covering incidents of incitement of violence.”

Meta, X, Snap and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment.