Pakistani Man Arrested for Spreading Misinformation That Sparked UK Riots
Pakistani authorities have arrested a 32-year-old man on charges of cyberterrorism for allegedly disseminating misinformation that incited violent riots in the UK earlier this month, a senior police official reported on Wednesday, South China Morning Post reported.
According to the report in SCMP, the suspect, Farhan Asif, a freelance web developer, was apprehended in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, according to Imran Kishwar, Deputy Inspector General of Investigations. Asif is accused of sharing false information on YouTube and Facebook regarding a British teenager involved in a stabbing incident on July 29, which resulted in the deaths of three girls and injuries to 10 others at a dance class in Northwest England.
The misinformation falsely claimed that the suspect was a newly arrived asylum seeker with a Muslim-sounding name. This sparked outrage and led to a mob attacking a mosque near the site of the stabbing the following day. In response, British police issued a rare clarification, confirming that the suspect was born in the UK, with parents reportedly from Rwanda and believed to be Christians, the SCMP report said.
The misinformation was first circulated by Channel3 Now, a social media account on the platform X, which falsely identified the suspect as “Ali Al-Shakati.” The account later issued an apology on July 31 for the misleading information.
Despite the retraction, the false reports continued to spread, contributing to over a week of unrest across the UK and resulting in more than 1,000 arrests. Authorities have attributed the violence to far-right groups who exploited the misinformation to incite further demonstrations.
Asif was arrested at his home in Lahore and has denied being the original source of the false information, claiming instead that he had reposted it from other social media platforms. The case has been transferred to the Federal Investigation Agency, which handles cyberterrorism cases. It remains unclear whether the UK has requested his extradition.
