Experts say websites that organised protests are inciting violence against Jewish people. Online spaces that are being used to incite and organise the far-right-led riots contain messages encouraging followers to consider Jewish people as a target, community security experts have warned. One forum, which was key to organising the first protest that turned into a riot last Tuesday in Southport, is allegedly jointly run by a suspected neo-Nazi. He is believed to be based overseas. He is alleged to have called previously for attacks overseas on Jewish places of worship, according to research by the Community Security Trust (CST). Last year he was reported to the police for alleged encouragement of violent antisemitism. One message in the forum insults “Gypsies” as well as Jews. The CST monitors and investigates antisemitism in Britain and provides safety advice to Jewish communities. It works closely with the police and Muslim groups. Generally, there is heightened fear and tension across communities that have already been attacked, as far-right organisers call for at least 30 sites around England to be targeted on Wednesday. Some are linked to immigration and asylum locations.
via guardian: Far-right forums used to plan UK riots encouraging antisemitic attacks
siehe auch: Suspected Foreign Accounts Aid UK Extremists to Incite Riots British agencies probe possible foreign government involvement White supremacist networks exploit Telegram to push messaging. Suspected foreign state-backed actors and UK domestic extremists have coalesced online to stoke racism and incite violence across the UK, taking advantage of services from TikTok to the messaging service Telegram. Over the last 10 days, channels on the social media site Telegram, prominent accounts on X and self-described British patriots on ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok have pushed users to appear at centers for asylum-seekers and take part in demonstrations that later turned violent. Other accounts have spread false allegations about members of the Islamic community. (…) Authorities are probing suspicious activity, including the manipulation of hashtags on X and use of bots to increase followers, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing inquiries. Elon Musk, the owner of X, has made several provocative posts on the platform, including one saying “civil war is inevitable” that drew sharp criticism from Starmer’s government. Neither X — formerly known as Twitter — nor Telegram responded to requests for comment. Amorphous Online Network Extremists are leveraging lax content moderation on Telegram to organize their messaging, according to researchers examining the activity. Far-right activists operate a decentralized, amorphous online network based on shared ideology, said Zoe Manzi, an analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a think tank dedicated to human rights. “They’re being strategic about the particular platforms they use for what purpose,” she said. “It’s a combination of covert organizing and a broadcast to a committed audience.” Some right-wing commentators and Britons used #FarRightThugsUnite to criticize the use of that label by Starmer’s government to describe those taking part. The trend emerged after mosques were targeted and immigration centers came under threat during riots across Britain in the last week, with hundreds of people arrested for taking part in violent disorder and looting. Many of those posting on X with the #FarRightThugsUnite hashtag appeared to be genuine Britons complaining about being described as far-right. British authorities suspect that other accounts are part of a coordinated effort to amplify the hashtag on X, and are potentially backed by a foreign state, the people said. Dubious accounts appeared to have followed thousands of bot accounts on X in a bid to increase their own followings, and often have near-identical bios, typically describing themselves as British patriots, former members of the police or military, and supporters of Brexit or the right-wing Reform UK party. Several such accounts carry photographs purporting to be of their owners but which appeared to have been stolen from other genuine social media profiles.