Northern Ireland Police Arrest 19 After 2 Nights of Rioting as Online Misinformation Draws Scrutiny
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 12
Northern Ireland Police Arrest 19 After 2 Nights of Rioting as Online Misinformation Draws Scrutiny
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 12
Summary
Nineteen people, including a 16-year-old boy, were arrested after two nights of rioting in Northern Ireland triggered by a knife attack earlier this week.
Far-right activists called demonstrations after graphic footage of the attack spread online, and police said masked men burned vehicles and houses, blocked roads, and attacked officers with rocks and petrol bombs.
Thursday night was markedly calmer, with PSNI reporting only lower-level disturbances after using plastic bullets and water cannon the previous night; police in Belfast and Glasgow appealed for calm before anti-racism protests.
MPs on Friday said the unrest exposed failures in the Online Safety Act, urging the government and Ofcom to force platforms to curb algorithmic amplification of false or inflammatory content during crises.
The knife-attack victim, Stephen Ogilvie, remained in an induced coma but was improving, while Hadi Alodid, 30, has been charged with attempted murder.