Woman Detained in England on False Information
In the UK, a 55-year-old woman was arrested after allegedly causing far-right street riots with false information she posted on social media. Cheshire Constabulary announced that a woman was arrested for spreading disinformation on social media following the deaths of three children in a knife attack in Southport on July 29.
“Today (August 8), a 55-year-old woman was arrested on charges of sharing written material with the intent to hurt racial hatred and spread false information,” a police statement said. Cheshire Police Chief Inspector Alison Ross said the far-right street incidents in the country since July 29 were the result of false and malicious information on the internet.
Statements by Alison Ross
Ross emphasized that sharing information on social media without checking its accuracy can have dangerous consequences, saying, “This situation is a striking example that shows that we are responsible for our actions on social media.”
Who is the Detained Woman?
According to reports in the British media, the woman who was detained was a businesswoman named Bernadette Spofforth. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Spofforth said, “I am ashamed to be accused of something like this. I did not make this information up; I heard it from someone in Southport.”
Spofforth admitted that he shared false information about the identity of the attacker, but stated that he did not accept that his post caused far-right events. “The information I shared is not related to the violent events in the country. But I accept that a Russian news site may have used my post as a source,” he said.
The Daily Mail also noted that Spofforth’s post was the first time false information about the attacker’s identity was included in its investigation.
The Effect of False Information
Spofforth said he has thousands of followers on his private account on the X platform and expressed his sorrow to The Times by saying, “I made this post. It was a stupid thing to do on impulse and it destroyed me.” He explained that he had written the same thing after being inspired by another X post he had seen.
Attack Incident and Aftermath
During the knife attack in Southport, Spofforth claimed the suspect was “Ali Al-Shakati” and that he had entered the UK illegally last year and was being monitored by the intelligence services. However, police declined to identify the attacker because he was 17. Following claims on social media that the attacker was a Muslim refugee, far-right groups in the country began carrying out attacks on mosques and foreigners.
In the far-right violence that began on July 30, many immigrants and police were attacked; mosques, homes, workplaces, cars and police vehicles were damaged. As a result of these incidents in the country, 483 people were detained and 149 of them were referred to court.
The identity of Axel Radukubana, the perpetrator of the attack in Southport, was revealed three days after the incident. Radukubana, who was born in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, was also revealed to be Christian.
