The UK government is facing criticism for not taking action against Elon Musk's X platform over posts that incited violence in Belfast, despite widespread condemnation. Officials have stated that any official reprimand will come from media regulator Ofcom, but not for at least two months, as the regulator awaits a quarterly compliance report from the platform.
Concerns over social media's role in spreading disturbing images and fuelling anger grew on Wednesday, as police and community leaders urged calm. Violence erupted on Tuesday evening in and around Belfast, with crowds including masked men burning vehicles and houses, and targeting ethnic minorities in what one Northern Ireland MP described as a 'race-based pogrom'.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed to crack down on those fuelling divisions, stating there was no justification for the disorder. The government plans to amend the Online Safety Act to require social media firms to act more quickly to remove inflammatory content during riots, but this will not take effect until mid-July at the earliest.
Further protests unfolded after Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old refugee from Sudan, was charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie. The family of Ogilvie appealed for calm, rejecting disorder and emphasising the valuable contribution of migrants to the country.
Among those forced to flee their homes were two Ugandan care workers, rescued after a church pastor pleaded with a mob. One of the women described a 'terrifying' ordeal. Musk has rejected blame, sharing a post that argued immigration policy is inflaming tensions, not social media.
A former police national lead for counter-terrorism warned that far-right agitation over migration is the biggest current national security threat, bigger than Islamist terrorism. However, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation said it is legitimate to discuss immigration in the context of national security.
