Full Fact's response to the riots

In the face of some distressing violence and scenes of unrest across the country in recent days, we at Full Fact hope that you are all doing as well as you can be, and are safe and supported. 

The disorder we’ve seen, triggered at least in part by false claims circulating on social media in the wake of the Southport stabbings last week, are an awful reminder of what can happen when online misinformation spills into the real world.

An incorrect name for the Southport suspect, “Ali Al-Shakati”, spread rapidly online, alongside false claims he had recently come to the UK on a small boat, or was Syrian. As we wrote in our fact check, these claims were quickly rebutted by Merseyside Police. But nevertheless, unrest broke out in Southport, with Merseyside Police reportedly saying people behind the violence had been fired up by social media posts. 

Many other towns and cities have seen violence on their streets in the days since, with some politicians including the home secretary blaming social media platforms for allowing misinformation to spread. 

At Full Fact, we know only too well that bad information ruins lives. We’ve seen the impact of people being misidentified in the wake of major news events before. And whether it’s false claims about individuals, misleading statistics or fake cancer cures, we know that misinformation circulating online doesn’t stay online—it can affect real-world behaviours and do real damage to people and communities.

Full Fact exists to take on this challenge. We work hard to put truth at the heart of our national conversations. And as we’ve watched some awful scenes unfold in recent days, our entire team’s felt our mission more deeply than ever. 

As rumours continue to circulate, we are working hard to provide clear, accurate and reliable information. That includes publishing an explainer answering some of the key questions about the riots, which we will be updating regularly in the coming days.

And we are continuing to fact check misinformation that circulates online to stop it in its tracks—for example, the false claim that two protestors were “stabbed by Muslims” in Stoke-on-Trent over the weekend. But we can’t do it alone. 

We’re so grateful to every one of our supporters and donors, without whom this vital work could not happen. All donations support our critical effort to build safer communities, both online and offline. 

It’s clear that internet companies need to react faster and more comprehensively to stop the spread of misinformation on their platforms before it gets out of hand. But that’s a significant challenge while the Online Safety Act barely scratches the surface of online misinformation. We’re reiterating our call on the Government to amend the Act so that it can improve our defences against misinformation, particularly where it can be generated by AI and disseminated more widely, more often. 

The Government also needs to rethink how it can ensure that fact checkers are equipped with the right tools, services, and rights to meaningfully tackle misinformation at speed and scale. The violence across the UK is the clearest possible illustration that everyone in the country needs the understanding, judgement, and tools to be able to identify and challenge falsehoods.

And as for the public, they too can play their part. Now more than ever it’s essential to consider whether what you see online is accurate, so you can avoid sharing misleading information. We have written a number of relevant guides to help, including help on how to spot misleading images and videos, and created a toolkit to help identify misinformation.