How misinformation about the Southport murders sparked violent race riots across the country
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Axel Rudakubana, then 17, unleashed an attack on 30 July during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class – in the chaotic hours following the incident, misinformation began spreading online. The summer race riots that engulfed the nation in waves of violence had a grim and harrowing spark – a mass stabbing at a dance class in the seaside town of Southport, carried out by a teenager.
![[Widespread disorder followed the murder of three girls in Southport]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/09/23/00/7c1b9b89035ebd326a45b580c28f5bbaY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzI3MDMyMzE0-2.77016662.jpg)
Axel Rudakubana, then 17, unleashed an attack on 30 July during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, murdering three children and injuring eight others. The tragedy sent shockwaves throughout the country. In the chaotic hours following the incident, misinformation began spreading online. Social media posts alleged that the attacker was a 17-year-old asylum seeker who had recently arrived in the country by boat, igniting a divisive narrative that fueled anger and unrest nationwide.
![[Police officers in riot gear walk past a burnt-out car on a residential street during rioting in Hartlepool]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/10/11/02/11c69ea04f052d8ce2d7bada5c69e2bbY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzI4NjUyNDQ2-2.77016705.jpg)
Among the accounts to peddle such claims was influencer Andrew Tate, who claimed the attacker was an “illegal migrant” and urged people to “wake up”, while Darren Grimes of GB News criticised MPs for calling “for more ‘refugees’ to be allowed in” on the same day as the attack.
![[The hotel, a Holiday Inn Express north of Rotherham, had been housing asylum seekers for three years]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/17/15/GettyImages-2164815415.jpg)
English Defence League co-founder Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, shared a post he said suggested authorities were trying to “manipulate” the public over the attacker’s identity. Nearly 450 people have been sentenced for offences in connection with the riots and disorder that broke out in parts of the country.
