Foreign-Based Accounts Drove Asylum-Unrest Posts, Analysis Finds
Most of the social-media accounts stoking this weekend’s unrest over asylum accommodation were based outside the United Kingdom, an analysis found, pointing to foreign amplification of a domestic flashpoint. The finding followed disorder linked to protests in towns including Belfast and Southampton. It sharpens concern that outside actors are inflaming tensions over immigration.
The role of social media in drawing crowds and spreading false claims about asylum seekers has become central to the disorder that has flared around hotels and hostels this summer, echoing the riots of a year ago. That much of the amplification appears to come from abroad raises the spectre of deliberate interference designed to sow division, as well as home-grown agitation. Police have been referring online posts to specialist units, and ministers face pressure to act against both the violence and the misinformation feeding it. Untangling foreign manipulation from genuine local anger is difficult. Watch whether the government moves against the online networks or the unrest spreads.