UK Prime Minister warns social media companies against spreading misinformation.

ANCHOR:

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned social media companies not to act irresponsibly by inciting violence and spreading false information.

“Let me also say to the big social media companies and those who run them: Violent disorder has clearly hit the internet—that’s also a crime. It’s happening on your premises and the law must be upheld everywhere,” Starmer told a news conference after the fatal stabbing of three young girls in the north-west English city of Southport last week.

Their tragic deaths have further soured community relations and sparked further episodes of disorder in towns and cities across England.

The unrest followed the rapid spread of false information on social media that the suspect in the stabbings was a radical Islamist immigrant.

Starmer said there was a “balance to be struck” in handling such platforms, as praising violence on social media was “a crime, not freedom of expression”.

Asked what steps would be taken if social media platforms did not live up to their responsibilities, he said: “It’s an amazing opportunity that we all enjoy… There’s also a responsibility. This is a place to have a mature conversation.”

Anti-immigrant protesters descended on Southport from elsewhere, attacking police and targeting a mosque after the incident.

More than 150 people were arrested during violent riots in various UK towns and cities over the weekend.

The violence marked some of the worst rioting the UK has seen in years.

Also, a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham, a town in South Yorkshire, was targeted by far-right rioters on Sunday in the sixth day of violent unrest, leaving it damaged and people in shock.

Rioters threw planks of wood at police officers and sprayed them with fire extinguishers before smashing hotel windows to gain access to the premises as riots continued to escalate across England.

About 700 people took part in the riots where a generator and a large bucket were lit near a window of the hotel, causing a small fire.