England was hit by one of its worst riots earlier this month after tragic stabbings of three young girls.
UK Southport Riots Expose Disinformation Network and Accountability Gaps What connects a British businesswoman, a Pakistani newsmaker, a foreign country, and a cigar-smoking kickboxer? While it might sound like the setup for a joke, it’s a serious matter for the Punjab Police. The force is currently investigating these seemingly unrelated figures to uncover their connections to one of the UK’s most violent riots in recent history, revealing the extreme vulnerability faced by British Muslims and their places of worship.
Earlier this month, England was rocked by a series of race riots following the tragic stabbing deaths of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party on July 29. The teenager charged with these murders, Axel Rudakubana, had his identity revealed due to a special court ruling.
Before this revelation, far-right extremists falsely claimed that the stabbings were carried out by an undocumented Muslim immigrant on a terror watch list. Research shows this false claim was viewed over 420,000 times on social media, reaching more than 1.7 billion people. This misinformation fueled a surge of Islamophobic and anti-immigrant rhetoric, leading to a wave of attacks, threats against mosques, and significant property damage.
Although the British businesswoman, Pakistani newsmaker, foreign country, and kickboxer appear to have little in common, each has played a role in exacerbating the violence. This situation highlights the destructive power of digital disinformation and the limited accountability for those who create and spread false narratives online. It serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of uncritically accepting online information without verifying its accuracy.
The businesswoman
Bernadette Spofforth, a successful managing director of a clothing company, portrays herself as a “forward-thinking and creative individual” on her LinkedIn profile and enjoys an affluent lifestyle in a £1.5 million farmhouse in Cheshire. Despite her professional success, Spofforth is known for her vocal support of right-wing conservative views and was an outspoken critic of Covid lockdowns and net-zero climate policies, gaining significant attention on national television and amassing tens of thousands of followers on X (formerly Twitter) before deleting her account.
Hours after the murder of three girls in Southport on July 29, Spofforth posted on X: “Ali Al-Shakati was the suspect, he was an asylum seeker who came to the UK by boat last year and was on an MI6 watch list. If this is true, then all hell is about to break loose.”
According to an investigation by the UK’s Daily Mail, this post was the first to incorrectly link the Southport attacker to being a Muslim, an asylum seeker, and on an MI6 watch list. When confronted with the fallout, Spofforth denied responsibility, stating, “I’m mortified that I’m being accused of this. I did not make it up. I first received this information from somebody in Southport.” However, she failed to provide evidence for her claims and deleted her account shortly thereafter.
Despite removing the post, it had already spread to other accounts and websites, fueling further violence. Spofforth claimed her post was not responsible for the violence but acknowledged it might have been used by a Russian news website.
The foreign ‘adversary’
Enter Channel3Now, a media outlet notorious for its clickbait content designed to captivate and engage through sensationalism rather than facts. Research analysts have identified such clickbait sites as adept at exploiting significant national events to create emotionally charged content that spreads quickly. Channel3Now exemplifies this strategy, using its website and social media platforms to push provocative headlines and stories, often lacking substantive evidence.
These clickbait sites frequently capitalize on trending social media narratives to generate their own content, following the logic that if something is already gaining traction online, it’s an opportunity to boost their own engagement. The viral post by Bernadette Spofforth, which falsely labeled the Southport stabbing suspect as a Muslim asylum seeker on an MI6 watch list, was eagerly picked up by Channel3Now. The post spread rapidly, amassing nearly two million views before it was eventually removed.
Complicating matters further, a report by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) reveals that while Channel3Now claims to be based in the US, it was originally a Russian-run YouTube channel focused on rally driving. The channel had not featured Russian-language content for over a decade and may have been purchased and repurposed by unknown actors. The Channel3Now website was established in summer 2023, and one of its associated Facebook pages, which underwent multiple rebrandings, was repurposed again in May 2024. Administrators of these pages are located in Pakistan and the US. The website itself uses a US-based IP cloaking service, a common tactic for concealing identities online.
Although the connection to Russia remains unconfirmed, both TBIJ and the Daily Mail have reported on this angle, noting that Russian-linked media outlets have previously engaged in disinformation during incidents like the Westminster and Salisbury Novichok attacks. However, the focus now is on who is actually running Channel3Now. The investigation reveals that the operation extends beyond Moscow, reaching Lahore, Pakistan, which is why the Punjab Police are now involved.
The Pakistani newsmaker in question is a Lahore-based individual who presents himself as an independent journalist but is revealed by ITV News and BBC investigations to be the key figure behind Channel3Now. This connection is particularly startling given that the Southport riots, which targeted British Muslims and Pakistani communities, were partially incited by a media outlet with ties to Pakistan.
This individual is linked to several other clickbait news sites, including Fox3Now and Fox7Now, which impersonate legitimate American news outlets. Fox3Now, for example, faced legal action from Fox News last year for intellectual property infringement. In 2022, Fox3Now falsely reported an active shooter at Newport Centre Mall, leading to widespread panic before the site admitted the report was incorrect and the alleged gunfire was actually from a faulty popcorn machine.
Fox3Now wasn’t alone in spreading this misinformation; other affiliated accounts, including Channel3Now, also propagated the false story, demonstrating a coordinated effort among these clickbait outlets.
