'There's never one reason for a riot': Dr Stephanie Alice Baker on the violent consequences of online disinformation

On Monday 29 July 2024, a 17-year old teen brought a knife to a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport and murdered three girls, injuring ten more children and parents.

Within two hours, a social media post falsely claimed the attacker was an asylum seeker or a Muslim immigrant. The next day, hundreds of protesters threw bricks, bottles and rocks at a local mosque.

The following week saw a series of violent riots across the UK – in London, Bristol, and in Rotherham, where rioters attacked a hotel used to house asylum seekers.

The government response was swift. As of Monday 19 August, over 1,000 people were arrested in connection to violent disorder in England and Northern Ireland. 470 rioters have been charged with offences so far, with many facing years in prison.

Prosecution has occurred on such a large scale that the government has activated an emergency measure to ease prison overcrowding, called Operation Early Dawn.

Online disinformation campaigns stoke anti-immigrant sentiments and lead to a week of riots

The false claims about the murderer’s heritage circulated on social media and were amplified by Russian state TV, controversial influencer Andrew Tate, and far right movements.

Reform leader Nigel Farage spread misinformation by suggesting that the attacker may be known to UK authorities and refused to apologise when this was revealed to be untrue.

Dr Stephanie Alice Baker, Reader in Sociology at City St George’s, University of London, researches the role of influencers and new media technologies in amplifying false, misleading and harmful content online, and has advised the UK parliament on online radicalisation and extremism.

Speaking to Channel 5 News, she explains:

If you look at the incident that triggered much of the violence, what we know is a series of rumours circulated were falsely claiming that the perpetrator was an immigrant.

What we have seen as a subsequent issue is a series of protests and riots that have been focused on anti-immigrant sentiments.
We know from research that some of the disinformation has come from foreign state-owned media, foreign interference campaigns, and some of that then blends with social media.

It is incredibly difficult to deal with the far-right movement. Their tactics and strategies keep on changing, and I think part of what is so problematic in the current climate is that this involves many far-right groups.

Having studied the far right and conspiracy theories post-pandemic, there is a wide populist movement that is being sowed and cultivated both online and offline.

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You have emerging feelings of nationalism, a sense that people are being left behind, a sense that people’s freedoms are being denied, that the sovereignty of the nation is at stake.

And a lot of this really coincides with a rise of immigration and a cost-of-living crisis.

There is never one reason or cause for a riot.

Whenever a riot occurs— and England has a history of riots— there is always a complex web of social, political and economic routes that are underlying that.

There is no doubt that people across the country are experiencing a cost-of-living crisis, mortgage rates and rents have skyrocketed. People are struggling to make ends meet.

At the same time, there has been a rise in immigration, which many perceived to be the cause, but obviously is a scapegoat.

Preventing riots like these requires really being aware of what is driving a lot of these grievances that are sweeping across the country.