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Social media algorithms need overhaul after Southport stabbings riots, Ofcom says
Watchdog issues warning over misinformation after trouble that flared following killing of three girls on Merseyside
Misinformation about the Southport killings proliferated despite tech firms and social media platforms’ “uneven” attempts to stop it, wrote the Ofcom chief executive, Melanie Dawes, in a letter to the secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, Peter Kyle. “Posts about the Southport incident and subsequent events from high-profile accounts reached millions of users, demonstrating the role that virality and algorithmic recommendations can play in driving divisive narratives in a crisis period,” Dawes wrote. Some of these accounts “falsely stated that the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker and shared unverified claims about his political and ideological views”, Dawes said, adding: “There was a clear connection between online activity and violent disorder seen on UK streets.”
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