Most X accounts posting about Belfast and Southampton unrest were based outside UK
Summary
An analysis shows that more than half of the social media accounts posting about riots in Belfast and Southampton were based outside the UK. Many of the most-read posts came from the US, including from right-wing commentators, highlighting attempts by foreign actors to influence UK public opinion during times of unrest.Key Facts
- Over 8,600 accounts posted about the Belfast and Southampton unrest on Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
- Only 45.3% of these accounts were located in the UK; 16.8% were from the US, 4.5% from Ireland, and about 25% from other European countries.
- Seven of the 12 most popular tweets about the events came from US accounts, including posts by Elon Musk and American right-wing figures.
- Nearly one-third of 43,000 tweets examined contained racist or anti-immigration comments.
- About 10% of tweets about Belfast called for violence or vigilante actions.
- Analysts say hostile foreign actors use X to spread divisive content and incite tension in UK communities.
- Elon Musk’s posts about UK race and immigration issues were far more frequent than his posts about his aerospace company SpaceX leading up to its IPO in June 2024.
- Police faced violence during protests in Southampton after the murder of Henry Nowak, which was falsely linked to racism by police.
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