PRO-PUTIN trolls have been linked to dangerous fake news spreading online about the tragic Southport stabbings.
False claims were made and shared by Russian news sites stating the triple murder suspect, Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, was an immigrant “on the MI6 watchlist” who had arrived in the UK by boat.
PACops in riot gear and police dogs swarmed the streets in Hartlepool after violence broke out with cars being set on fire[/caption]
ReutersViolent clashes broke out outside Downing Street on Whitehall after the fake news spread around the UK claiming the suspected killer was an immigrant[/caption]
PAThe false claims linked to pro-Putin news sources heightened anger over immigration policies in the UK[/caption]
Axel Muganwa Rudakubana has been named as the alleged killer
A completely made up name was even given to the suspected killer and later picked up by media companies with chilling links to Putin.
Police later confirmed the suspect, who was born in Cardiff, is from just outside Southport.
The 17-year-old appeared in court today charged with murdering three children and injuring eight others in the rampage at a Taylor Swift dance class.
The false information around the man was said to have been first spread on social media.
It was then published by a notorious pro-Russian fake news site just hours after the fatal attack.
The Sun is choosing not to name the website out of respect to the victims and their families.
The site has been accused in the past of sharing “racially motivated click-bait”.
It is believed that the people behind it have connections to Russia’s defence and IT industries with one man appearing to be a former KGB operative who has served in Russia’s parliament, say the MailOnline.
The site says it is based in the US but it has a high-level privacy system in place meaning the accurate data may be hidden.
The company behind the organisation has been active for over a decade with it starting off as a Russian YouTube channel posting videos of rally-driving in the snow.
In 2019, it started to publish bizarre videos in English showing things such as a tiger being beaten to death and reports on women’s football matches.
Last June it became an online news site that is registered with an online hosting company in Lithuania.
They also shared the false claims on their social media – with one X post reaching over two million people.
Putin’s main state broadcaster, Russia Today, published the same information – citing the initial reports as fact.
They later put out a notice informing readers the information has now been retracted from the article.
The initial fake news site posted an apology on Wednesday admitting the details they shared were incorrect.
The post added that they will “make sure the team responsible for publishing this news is fired”.
The Home Office are now investigating the origin of social media posts, say the Independent.
By the time the public information was retracted chaos had already ensued across England.
With many people blaming the sickening events on immigrants and those from a Muslim background due to the name and details given despite cops stating the teen was a Brit.
Thugs set fire to a police car and hurled bricks at cops in Hartlepool as tensions flared.
In London, 100 people were arrested after clashes erupted in Whitehall.
Flares were hurled at the gates of Downing Street and protesters attempted to kick fences down before they were stopped by police.
PASix-year-old Bebe King was also killed in Monday’s horror stabbing[/caption]
PAElsie Dot Stancombe, seven, was named as one of the tragic victims of the Stockport knife rampage[/caption]
FacebookAlice Aguiar, nine, died in hospital hours after the attack[/caption]
AFPFloral tributes have been left for the victims of the deadly knife attack in Southport[/caption]
Rioters also fought with cops in Southport outside a mosque following the horror attack.
Merseyside Police said more than 50 officers were injured amid the carnage.
Southport MP Patrick Hurley blamed Tuesday’s clashes on “a swirling morass on social media of lies and propaganda”.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner hit out at the “disgraceful” violence as she also blasted the social media “untruths”.
She said: “Speculation and some of the untruths that have been put around social media, not only is that creating tensions and fear in the community, but it’s disrespectful to a family who maybe wants those answers that haven’t got those answers.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has promised the rioting yobs responsible for the horror protests will “face the full force of the law”.
Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar were all knifed to death in the mass stabbing in Southport.
Eight other children suffered stab wounds in the horror, with five fighting for life in hospital along with two adults.
The horror unfolded on July 29 as children enjoyed a Taylor Swift Yoga and Dance Workshop at a community centre.
Terrified witnesses described the rampage as a “horror film” as the teen allegedly stabbed children at random.
Hero dance teacher Leanne Lucas is understood to have been knifed in the arms, neck and back as she used her body to shield young girls from the knifeman.
Her colleague Heidi Liddle escaped uninjured after bravely locking some of the children inside a toilet.
Another adult, Jonathan Hayes, was stabbed in the leg as he tried to fend off the attacker after running into the class when he heard screams.
Earlier this year, Putin’s troll farms fuelled further hateful conspiracy theories in Britain when they targeted the British Royals in a bid to spark chaos.
Ex-White House information chief Theresa Payton claimed the wild theories around The King and Princess Kate’s health at the start of 2024 was likely a result of Kremlin propaganda.
Multiple Russian media outlets spread hurtful fake news saying King Charles III had died – even publishing a completely fabricated statement from Buckingham Palace.
Russian outlets also peddled conspiracy theories on social media as they baselessly cast doubt on the authenticity of The Sun’s exclusive footage of Princess Kate and Prince William shopping.
How Russia weaponises fake news & troll farms
RUSSIAN media has been at the centre of a storm of wild conspiracy theories relating to the UK in recent years.
After spreading misinformation that King Charles is dead, Kremlin trolls went on to suggest that Kate Middleton is not the woman who appears on Will’s side in a video showing them walking around Windsor.
But this is not the first time Russia uses fake reports to spread chaos.
Back in 2020 Russian media bizarrely claimed that the British-made vaccine distributed by AstraZeneca- turns people into monkeys.
It was thought to be a ploy to promote its own Putin-backed Sputnik V vaccine.
And with the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow’s propaganda machine continued its work trying to spread fake news.
In 2022, Russia claimed the UK “staged” horrifying scenes of carnage in Bucha to blame Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin has denied the massacre happened, with a state TV report making twisted claims that it was was “staged” and amounted to “provocation” which was “done by professionals, probably British”.
And a few months later a deepfake video of Ukrainian president Zelensky talking of surrendering to Russia, was circulating on social media.
The video – an obvious fake- showed President Zelesky behind a podium telling his troops to surrender.
The real Ukrainian President described it as a “childish provocation”.
Putin’s main state broadcaster, Russia Today, also published the same false informationReuters
PAThe 17-year-old was seen heading to court today[/caption]
