Online misinformation is fueling tensions over the Southport stabbing attack that killed 3 children

Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Within hours of a stabbing attack in northwest England that killed three young girls and wounded several more children, a false name of a supposed suspect was circulating on social media. Hours after that, violent protesters were clashing with police outside a nearby mosque. Police say the name that was circulated was fake, as were rumors that the 17-year-old suspect was an asylum-seeker who had recently arrived in Britain. Detectives say the suspect who was charged Thursday with murder and attempted murder was born in the U.K. That information did little to slow the lightning spread of the false name, or stop right-wing influencers pinning the blame on immigrants and Muslims.