Pakistani police have arrested Farhan Asif from Lahore’s Defence area in connection with a fake news website, Channel 3Now News, which has been accused of propagating false information that contributed to violent disturbances in the UK. The arrest follows an investigation that established Channel 3Now News as a source of misinformation related to the recent Southport stabbing incident.
The false claims propagated by Channel 3Now News suggested that the attacker in Southport was a 17-year-old Muslim migrant named Ali al-Shakati, who allegedly arrived in the UK by boat and was on an MI6 watch list. This misinformation, which was widely shared on social media, ignited tensions and led to violent unrest in Southport, London, and Hartlepool.
Farhan Asif, the operator of Channel 3Now News, denied responsibility for the subsequent violence, dismissing the impact of the misinformation spread by his website. In a statement to ITV, Asif said, “I don’t know how such a small article or a minor Twitter account could cause widespread confusion.” He downplayed the role of Channel 3Now, attributing the chaos to local actors in the UK.
The misinformation that triggered the riots reportedly originated from a tweet by Bernadette Spofforth, a 55-year-old social media user in the UK. Spofforth incorrectly claimed that the Southport stabbing suspect was an asylum seeker who came to the UK by boat and was known to security agencies. The tweet, which included the false name “Ali Al-Shakati,” quickly gained traction online.
Spofforth later expressed regret over her role in spreading the misinformation, stating, “I’m mortified that I’m being accused of this. I did not make it up. I first received this information from somebody in Southport.” She further distanced herself from the violence, stating, “My post had nothing to do with the violence we’ve seen across the country. But I acknowledge that it may have been the source for the information used by a Russian news website.”
The arrest of Farhan Asif and the investigation into Channel 3Now News highlight the significant impact that misinformation can have in fueling unrest and violence. Authorities in Pakistan have handed Asif over to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for further questioning.