Defending Truth: Battle Against Misinformation Continues Year After Southport Riots

Growing concerns about another wave of summer disturbances, particularly driven by anti-immigrant protests, have led Full Fact to question how governmental bodies can combat the seeds of misinformation. Nearly a year after the devastating riots in 2024, born out of the tragic death of three girls during a dance class in Southport, there is an intensified demand to thwart the possibility of such turbulence reoccurring. Full Fact has been actively monitoring the manner in which false narratives propagated in the aftermath of the Southport incident, the inability of digital platforms to detect and rectify emerging threats, and how authorities and platforms can thwart violence incubated by unchecked fallacy.

To commemorate the first anniversary of the Southport riots, Full Fact and Demos joined forces to host an event. The event aimed at discussing the effective role of Community Notes during the crisis and our suggestions on how platforms could tailor these Notes to more efficiently counteract the spread of misinformation during times of crisis. According to the research revealed by Demos, the Notes, in their current form, were barely noticeable to users, which limited their ability to stem the proliferation of falsities or harmful content.

In light of this, we position that a mere 4.6% of the Community Notes dataset was publicly accessible during the tumult in Southport. At the event, we proposed an innovative solution to improve this situation. We suggested enhancing the Notes’ model with accelerated notes issued by external experts and ‘super notes,’ designed to promote valuable contributions to important sets of notes, ensuring that these are promptly published to counteract vital threats to the information landscape. This presents a window of opportunity for the government to work directly with these platforms to prompt them in advancing their existing structures.

In the year since the Southport riots, we’ve persistently voiced our apprehension about the Online Safety Act. In the Full Fact Report, we reinstate our belief that the Act, in its present form, is insufficient to address harmful misinformation effectively. The lessons that the Southport riots had to offer have yet to be implemented. This viewpoint is also expressed by several key players, including the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee.

They declared that the Online Safety Act ‘was not drafted to counteract misinformation’ and would not have stalled the circulation of misinformation that underpinned the riots, even if it had been wholly applied. The question arises: What can the government do further to enhance the Act? We have put forth a series of suggestions pinpointing specific areas where the Online Safety Act can and should be fortified.

One urgent suggestion includes conducting a review to ascertain whether the Act can address the scale of detrimental content prevalent on social media. The Act should be revised to target the wider, systemic harms caused by misinformation to our society and democracy, keeping true to its original objectives. Major online platforms and search engines should bear more responsibility to identify and manage the dangers of democratically harmful content on their platforms. This extends beyond what is currently within the horizon of the Act.

Prominent officials, including the Prime Minister, have promised to revisit the Act. However, continual delays risk exacerbating the spread of unfiltered misinformation, making a dent in the public’s faith in governmental stability and reliable sources. We’ve been advocates for an integrated system for managing online misinformation, particularly during crises. This system should comprise social media platforms, credible organisations, and public administrators that can respond effectively to burgeoning disinformation.

Such a coordinated effort was crucial to manage the Southport riots, as is its importance in managing rumoured anti-immigrant protests. However, progress has so far been insignificant. Alongside this coordination, it is essential to have precise, consistent guidelines on how the authorities should react to and debunk misinformation.

Post any incident, it should be imperative for officials to quickly share all essential information that can help to interrupt further spread of false narratives. Any choice made to challenge misinformation should be guided by conspicuous, well-structured policies, grounded in research on debunking efficacy. Although an approach may prove successful at one time, it cannot guarantee similar results in a different scenario.

One year after the Southport tragedy, the government’s approach towards misinformation remains largely unsettled. The episodes of Summer 2024 shed light on how rapidly fake narratives can ignite real-world devastation, while the systems to thwart misinformation continue to be disjointed and under-resourced.

As the prospect of renewed chaos hangs in the balance, it’s not the time for inaction. The government must treat this issue with the urgency it requires. They have a responsibility to fast-track initiatives to fortify the Online Safety Act, nudge platforms to enhance their content moderation mechanisms, and demand a coordinated crisis management response framework.

There’s no time to waste before history risks repeating itself. With the continuous spread of misinformation and looming threats of disorder, it’s pivotal that the response from government and platforms alike is swift and decisive. The lessons learned from the Southport riots should act as a guide and an incentive to prevent similar incidents from reoccurring.

In light of this, proactive measures towards strengthening the Online Safety Act and fostering a coordinated system of managing online misinformation are critical steps we ought to take. There is a crying need for a collective and committed effort to curb misinformation before it fans the flames of unnecessary civil unrest. Government, online platforms, and the general public need to forge a united front in this battle to stop history from repeating itself.