Viral ‘no more mosques’ post uses image of the Brighton Royal Pavilion

Posts captioned “no more mosques share if you agree” have gone viral on social media, with more than one million views on X, formerly Twitter, and 27,000 shares on Facebook. The post includes a picture of an elaborate building, with an implication that it is a mosque. 

But the photo actually shows the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, which is a museum and venue for events, not a mosque. It was constructed for King George IV.

The posts were shared widely in the aftermath of the murder of three girls aged six, seven and nine, in a knife attack at a dance class in Southport on 29 July. The past week has seen a number of riots and violent protests in different parts of the country.

Misinformation quickly spread online that the suspect was a Muslim asylum seeker named “Ali Al-Shakati” who had arrived in the UK by boat. 

Axel Muganwa Rudakubana from Banks in Lancashire, has since been charged with three counts of murder, 10 attempted murders and possession of a curved kitchen knife. The 17-year-old was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents. 

During breaking news events 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 that should help you to spot misleading images and videos, and created a toolkit to help identify other types of misinformation.

Although some claims seem really obviously false, we still fact check them because it may not be clear to everyone that it is untrue, particularly more casual internet users. You can read our blog about this here.