“The Southport child-killer was a Muslim asylum seeker — and it was covered up.”
A fake-news site and viral posts: 27m+ impressions in days.
Verdict: False
The record
Born in Cardiff, to a family of Christian background.
Within hours of the attack a made-up name was circulating, along with the claim that the killer was a Muslim asylum seeker. It reached tens of millions of people before anyone could correct it, and it put crowds outside mosques.
The killer was Axel Rudakubana, born in Cardiff to a family of Christian background, later jailed for a minimum of 52 years. Police could not release details without risking the trial, and the silence got filled. People still argue that the reporting rules caused the riots. The lie caused the riots.
- The truth
- Axel Rudakubana, born in Cardiff, jailed 52 years minimum
- The lie
- an invented “asylum seeker” identity, 27m+ impressions
- Consequence
- a rumour that was never true set off nationwide riots
