Police have detained a Pakistani citizen accused of being involved in spreading the disinformation that fueled race-motivated riots across the UK, following the stabbing of three young girls in Southport, law enforcement sources told Dawn.
The suspect, Farhan Asif, a freelance web developer based in Lahore and associated with the Channel3Now platform, is accused of disseminating false information that claimed the 17-year-old British-born suspect was an immigrant. However, investigators have requested the government to form a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to thoroughly probe the serious allegations brought by UK broadcaster ITV News, which identified Asif as the source of the misinformation.
Officers close to the investigation revealed to Dawn that their inquiries led them to believe Asif was not the original source of the disinformation. Instead, they suspect he merely copy-pasted the information from a social media post. “The allegations should not be taken lightly as they can have a far-reaching impact on the Pakistani community in the UK, in particular, and Muslims in general,” a police officer emphasized on Monday.
The investigators suspect that the disinformation was initially published on July 29th by kossyderrickent.com, a little-known tabloid that typically covers celebrity news and trending topics in countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, the US, Zimbabwe, and India. The false information was then shared by a UK-based woman, previously involved in spreading disinformation about Covid-19 and climate change, on X (formerly known as Twitter). The woman’s X account appears to have been inactive since August 7.
Police are continuing to scrutinize Asif, whose social media accounts have been disabled. Authorities noted that Asif has no criminal record or history of suspicious transactions. After realizing the mistake, Asif reportedly issued an apology and removed the post from all his social media accounts. Despite this, the disinformation continued to spread as other users shared it, leading to widespread misinformation.
Investigators are now pressing for the formation of a JIT to fully explore the origins and implications of these serious allegations, stressing the importance of addressing the issue to prevent further harm to the Pakistani community and the broader Muslim population in the UK.
