- Far-right riots have erupted across the UK after fatal stabbings at a children's dance class.
- False information about the attacker's identity spread rapidly online, fueling the violence.
Cities across Britain have seen violent clashes as far-right riots continue to be held.
Anti-immigration rioters have taken to the streets following the fatal stabbings at a children's dance class on July 29.
Rioters, spurred on by false reports that the attacker had arrived in the country illegally, have set cars on fire, hurled bottles, and attacked a hotel in South Yorkshire used to house asylum seekers.
In an attempt to dispel the rumors and quell the escalating violence, a judge took the unusual decision to identify the person being detained in connection with the attacks as Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, a 17-year-old born in Cardiff, Wales.
But the false reports had already spread like wildfire across pockets of the internet — including Elon Musk's X.
Fake news runs riot
At the center of the unrest was the name Ali Al-Shakati.
Several X, Facebook, and TikTok accounts claimed that Al-Shakati — who does not exist — was a Muslim asylum seeker who had carried out the attacks at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, near Liverpool.
The Times of London reported that the fake news had originated from a verified X account using the handle @Artemisfornow, which had more than 40,000 followers. The user has since denied this, instead blaming a Facebook post from a gossip blog.
Wherever the false reports originated, they rose to prominence when an X account called Channel 3 Now shared the false news, and far-right voices, including Andrew Tate, jumped on the bandwagon.
"If you look at the origins of that story, X obviously plays a major role," Sander van der Linden, a professor at the University of Cambridge and misinformation expert, told Business Insider.
Some key instigators behind the riots, including far-right activist Tommy Robinson (real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) and Tate were banned from Twitter but reinstated after Musk bought the company.
"A lot of these individuals had been deplatformed, so they wouldn't have had an opportunity to amplify," Van der Linden said. "Twitter also previously had massive fact-checking and moderation resources before Musk took over and got rid of all of that."
Musk adds fuel to the fire
Instead of condemning the violence spurred on partly by his own platform, Musk appears to be squaring up for a fight.
The UK government has already condemned the world's richest person over a comment he posted claiming "civil war is inevitable" below a video of the far-right disorder. Downing Street said there was "no justification" for the comments and called on social media companies to do more about the spread of misinformation.
Musk later hit back at Prime Minister Kier Starmer for commenting that attacks on mosques or Muslim communities would not be tolerated, asking: "Shouldn't you be concerned about attacks on all communities?"
Musk has also claimed that the UK police's response "does seem onesided" — a viewpoint commonly promoted by far-right activists.
On Tuesday Musk reposted a video of a police officer making an arrest, adding: "Arrested for making comments on Facebook! Is this Britain or the Soviet Union? Is this accurate @CommunityNotes?"
In another post, Musk said that X "provides a clear and immediate way to refute anything false in the replies and with @CommunityNotes. The same is not true for legacy media who lie relentlessly, but there is no way to counter their propaganda."
Van der Linden said Musk might be being radicalized by his own platform. Social media is increasingly becoming an echo chamber, the researcher said, especially considering the number of new accounts launched following Musk's Twitter takeover.
Musk's echo chamber on X is increasingly conspiratorial, Van der Linden added.
"Musk is surrounding himself with low-quality information; he's liking and engaging with it so he sees more of it. It's almost like he's not realized he's radicalizing himself on his own platform."
Representatives for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.