Truth or Fake - Belfast Knife Attack: False Images, Misinformation Fuel Anti-Immigration Riots
False images and altered videos have spread online as police brace for a third night of unrest, officials said.
- On Monday, a street stabbing involving Sudanese national Hadi Alodid triggered anti-immigration riots in Belfast. Police prepared for a third night of disorder on Thursday as protesters clashed with officers and set fires.
- False images and videos, amplified by far-right voices like Tommy Robinson and Elon Musk, have fueled online anger. Posts wrongly link unrelated footage from Russia and old riots in Ballymena to current events.
- A viral Facebook post falsely claimed victim Stephen Ogilvie died from decapitation after assault by a Somali man, using a fake photo. Other videos falsely depicted the city burning to incite further unrest.
- Confirming his stable condition, the family of Ogilvie stated they "do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people." They urged rejection of spreading misinformation.
- Police continue managing disorder as riots enter a third night. The unrest reveals a stark disconnect between the criminal case reality and fabricated narratives circulating on social media.
26 Articles
26 Articles
Malay Mail
AlKhaleej TodayAs Musk becomes world’s first trillionaire, report links X posts to Belfast riot fallout
WASHINGTON, June 13 — Elon Musk, newly crowned the world’s first trillionaire, faced renewed criticism Friday over anti–immigrant riots in Belfast after researchers said violent narratives he amplified on his platform X amassed millions of views.Clashes broke out in the Northern Irish capital after a brutal knife attack on Monday, with police charging a Sudanese national named Hadi Alodid with attempted murder.Musk amplified calls for protest ac…
UK Arab community ’alarmed’ after Belfast anti-migrant violence
An organisation representing Arabs in the UK has expressed alarm at the wave of anti-immigrant violence that struck Northern Ireland earlier this week. Hundreds of masked rioters burned families out of their homes and torched cars in Belfast on Tuesday and Wednesday following a stabbing attack believed to have been carried out by a Sudanese refugee. The violence was stoked by far-right activists, who called for protests after a graphic video of …
PORTRAIT - The assailant, who reportedly came from a Sudanese family with many political connections and allegedly was a policeman in Khartoum, passed through France before joining Northern Ireland.
One of the most shared posts featured a photo of a man allegedly the victim of a knife attack. The authors claimed it depicted a man who had been seriously injured by a Sudanese national. In fact, the photo was of Daniel Thomas, also known as Danny Tommo, an anti-immigration activist and online influencer. Crucially, the man was not the victim of the attack. The day after the incident, he streamed his journey around Belfast, confirming that he w…
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