LONDON (AP) — Within hours of a stabbing attack in northwest England that killed three young girls and wounded several more children, a false name of a supposed suspect was circulating on social media. Hours after that, violent protesters were clashing with police outside a nearby mosque.
Police say the name was fake, as were rumors that the 17-year-old suspect was an asylum-seeker who had recently arrived in Britain. Detectives say the suspect charged Thursday with murder and attempted murder was born in the U.K., and British media including the BBC have reported that his parents are from Rwanda.
That information did little to slow the lightning spread of the false name or stop right-wing influencers pinning the blame on immigrants and Muslims.
“There’s a parallel universe where what was claimed by these rumors were the actual facts of the case,” said Sunder Katwala, director of British Future, a think tank that looks at issues including integration and national identity. “And that will be a difficult thing to manage.”
Local lawmaker Patrick Hurley said the result was “hundreds of people descending on the town, descending on Southport from outside of the area, intent on causing trouble — either because they believe what they’ve written, or because they are bad faith actors who wrote it in the first place, in the hope of causing community division.”
One of the first outlets to report the false name, Ali Al-Shakati, was Channel 3 Now, an account on the X social media platform that purports to be a news channel. A Facebook page of the same name says it is managed by people in Pakistan and the U.S. A related website on Wednesday showed a mix of possibly AI-generated news and entertainment stories, as well as an apology for “the misleading information” in its article on the Southport stabbings.
By the time the apology was posted, the incorrect identification had been repeated widely on social media.
“Some of the key actors are probably just generating traffic, possibly for monetization,” said Katwala. The misinformation was then spread further by “people committed to the U.K. domestic far right,” he said.
Governments around the world, including Britain’s, are struggling with how to curb toxic material online. U.K. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said Tuesday that social media companies “need to take some responsibility” for the content on their sites.
Katwala said that social platforms such as Facebook and X worked to “de-amplify” false information in real time after mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019.
Since Elon Musk, a self-styled free-speech champion, bought X, it has gutted teams that once fought misinformation on the platform and restored the accounts of banned conspiracy theories and extremists.
Rumors have swirled in the relative silence of police over the attack. Merseyside Police issued a statement saying the reported name for the suspect was incorrect, but have provided little information about him other than his age and birthplace of Cardiff, Wales.
Under U.K. law, suspects are not publicly named until they have been charged and those under 18 are usually not named at all. That has been seized on by some activists to suggest the police are withholding information about the attacker.
Tommy Robinson, founder of the far-right English Defense League, accused police of “gaslighting” the public. Nigel Farage, a veteran anti-immigration politician who was elected to Parliament in this month’s general election, posted a video on X speculating “whether the truth is being withheld from us” about the attack.
Brendan Cox, whose lawmaker wife Jo Cox was murdered by a far-right attacker in 2016, said Farage’s comments showed he was “nothing better than a Tommy Robinson in a suit.”
“It is beyond the pale to use a moment like this to spread your narrative and to spread your hatred, and we saw the results on Southport’s streets last night,” Cox told the BBC.
Flowers and toys are placed on the junction of Tithebarn Road and Hart Street in Southport, England, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, after three girls killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club on Monday. (James Speakman/PA via AP)
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Jason Myers hit a 31-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Seattle Seahawks to a 23-20 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday.
The game-winner capped a three-for-three day for Myers, who ensured the game went into OT with a 38-yard field goal with less than a minute left in regulation. Myers also hit from 44 yards in the second quarter.
“Just sticking to my routine. That’s my goal on every kick, whether it’s the first kick of the game or the game winner. It’s about trying to stay the same,” Myers said. “Coming across the East Coast is never easy for anybody but grinding it out and getting a ‘W’ in the NFL is hard.”
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith led Seattle on an eight-play, 71-yard drive to the New England 13 to set up the winning score. Smith was 33 of 44 for 327 yards on the day, with a 56-yard touchdown to DK Metcalf in the first half.
“He put the team on his back,” Metcalf said of Smith, a two-time Pro Bowl selection.
Metcalf finished with 10 catches for 129 yards.
The Seahawks (2-0) also got a 100-yard receiving game from Jaxon Smith-Njigba (12 catches for 117 yards).
“I want to see the run game lead us just as much as I want to go out there and throw a bunch of touchdowns. However we can get a win, whatever we’ve got to do, I’m just reading the defense and trying to make the right plays,” Smith said.
New England (1-1) won the coin toss heading into overtime but went three-and-out, with Rhamondre Stevenson getting stopped on third and 1.
Playing in their home opener under first-year head coach Jerod Mayo, the Patriots got 81 rushing yards and one touchdown from Stevenson and 96 rushing yards from Antonio Gibson. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett was 15-for-27 for 149 yards and one touchdown to rookie Ja’Lynn Polk.
The Seahawks kept their hopes for a win alive late in the game after Julian Love blocked a 48-yard field goal attempt that would have put the Patriots up by six with 3:59 left in regulation.
“Just heck of a play, but it’s something you practice all the time, and finally when you have the opportunity, it goes and executes it. That was big-time,” said Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald.
Smith subsequently found Metcalf for a pair of completions that got the Seahawks into the red zone. But New England got a stop on third and 1 on the 15-yard line. Seattle was flagged for a delay of game on fourth down and ultimately settled for the game-tying 38-yard field goal by Myers with 55 seconds remaining.
The Patriots marked the 10-year anniversary of their victory over Seattle in the 2015 Super Bowl by welcoming back former players for a halftime celebration. Before the game, Malcolm Butler served as the Keeper of the Light, ringing the bell where the stadium’s lighthouse feature is positioned. Butler sealed New England’s 28-24 Super Bowl win over the Seahawks with a goal line interception with less than a minute remaining.
Though they weren’t present, former players Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Devin McCourty sent video messages. Bill Belichick posted a message to his personal Instagram account, saying, “We all shared a magical ride together.”
Seahawks: LB Derick Hall was evaluated for a concussion but was cleared to return before the start of the second half.
Patriots: LB Ja’Whaun Bentley was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury. … LB Oshane Ximines did not return after suffering a knee injury.
Seahawks: Host Miami on Sunday.
Patriots: Visit New York Jets on Thursday night.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) is brought down by Seattle Seahawks linebacker Boye Mafe, center, in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo adjusts his microphone in the second half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez, left, blocks a pass intended for Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf, right, in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett, left, and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, greet one another in the center of the field following an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson, left, celebrates his touchdown in front of guard Nick Leverett, right, in the second half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
New England Patriots running back Antonio Gibson, right, is brought down by Seattle Seahawks safety Rayshawn Jenkins, left, in the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) celebrates with running back Zach Charbonnet (26) after Charbonnet rushed for a touchdown in the first half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) celebrates after running back Zach Charbonnet rushed for a touchdown in the first half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Seattle Seahawks place-kicker Jason Myers, center, boots the winning field goal in front of punter Michael Dickson, left, as New England Patriots safety Brenden Schooler, right, defends in overtime of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Seattle Seahawks place-kicker Jason Myers, center, celebrates with punter Michael Dickson, left, after Myers made the winning field goal in overtime of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
