Protesters throw rubbish during an anti-immigration protest in Britain. | Photo credit: Reuters
Pakistani police have arrested a man and charged him with cyber terrorism for his alleged role in spreading misinformation. Widespread riots in Britain Earlier this month, a senior police investigator said on Wednesday (August 21, 2024).
“The suspect has been identified as Farhan Asif (32), a freelance web developer,” said Imran Kishwar, deputy inspector general for investigations in Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province.
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The man is accused of spreading misinformation on YouTube and Facebook about a British teenager suspected in a knife attack at a dance class in northwest England on July 29, 2024, in which three girls were killed and 10 others were injured.
The false information claimed that the suspect was a recent refugee and had a name that indicated he was a Muslim teenager.
The misinformation led to a violent mob attacking a mosque near the scene of the stabbing the following day, after which police took the unusual step of clarifying that the suspect was born in Britain. His parents are from Rwanda and are said to be Christian, British media reported widely.
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Channel 3 now, An account on the X social media platform claiming to be a news channel was one of the first outlets to report the falsely named Ali al-Shaqati. A Facebook account for the channel said it was managed by people in Pakistan and the US
The site’s editor-in-chief apologized on July 31 for “misleading information in an article recently published on our website”. channel3 nowWe deeply regret any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused.”
But the false reports were widely circulated and were blamed for sparking more than a week of rioting across the United Kingdom, leading to more than 1,000 arrests.
Also read: Britain is grappling with its worst riots in 13 years, sparked by right-wing agitators
Authorities have blamed far-right agitators who have been spreading misinformation and promoting violent protests online for inciting the violent unrest.
“Asif was arrested from his house in the city for questioning,” police said at a news conference in the eastern city of Lahore.
He said Asif has claimed that he was not the source of the misinformation but had reposted it from social media.
The police have handed over the case to the Federal Investigation Agency, which handles cases related to cyber terrorism. It is not clear whether Britain had requested his extradition.