The fatal knife attack on three young girls during a dance class in the coastal town of Southport in northern England was followed by the worst riots in Britain in more than a decade.

Violence in cities across England and Northern Ireland has been fuelled by online misinformation, the far right and anti-immigration sentiment.

Communities responded with a series of rallies against the unrest, with thousands of people gathering on Wednesday, August 7.

On July 29, six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar were killed in a stabbing attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga event. Eight other children and two adults were injured.

Later that day, police said they had arrested a 17-year-old from a nearby village and did not consider the incident to be terrorist-related.

Almost immediately after the attack, social media posts falsely speculated that the suspect was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat in 2023, using a false name that was widely circulated. There were also unsubstantiated rumors that he was Muslim.

In fact, as the BBC and other media reported, the suspect was born in Wales to Rwandan parents.

Police urged the public not to spread “unconfirmed speculation and false information.”

The following evening, over a thousand people came took part in a vigil for the victims in Southport. Violence later broke out near a local mosque. People threw bricks, bottles and other objects at the mosque and police, a police car was set on fire and 27 officers were taken to hospital.

The unrest was widely condemned, with local MP Patrick Hurley saying “thugs” had travelled to the town to exploit the deaths of three children “for their own political ends”, while Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer denounced the “marauding mobs on the streets of Southport”.

There was Discussion of the rally on regional anti-immigration channels on the messaging app Telegram. Police said supporters of the now-defunct far-right group English Defence League (EDL) were believed to be involved in the violence.

The day after the Southport riots, violent protests broke out in London, Hartlepool and Manchester, which police linked to Southport. More protests occurred throughout the week – Many of the attacks were directed against mosques and hotels where asylum seekers were housed.

Although there was no unified organizing force, BBC analysis of activity in mainstream social media and smaller public groups shows a clear pattern of influencers spreading a message to encourage people to protest.

Numerous influential people from different circles spread false claims about the identity of the attacker, reaching a large audience – including ordinary people with no connection to right-wing extremist individuals and groups.

On X, EDL founder, far-right activist and convicted criminal Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, posted inflammatory messages to his nearly one million followers while on holiday in Cyprus.

An influencer on X associated with Yaxley-Lennon, who posts under the name “Lord Simon,” was one of the first to publicly call for nationwide protests.

Following the attack in Southport, riots broke out across England, from Plymouth on the south coast to Sunderland in the north-east. There were also riots in Belfast in Northern Ireland.

Crowds attacked mosques and asylum seekers’ shelters, cars and buildings, including a library, were set on fire and shops were looted.

Violence in south Belfast, where protesters against immigration and racism faced off in tense scenes outside City Hall. participated in “racist elements”said a judge. Police are investigating an attack on a man whose head was allegedly as a racially motivated hate crime.

In Rotherham on Sunday, frightened employees of the Holiday Inn, which was housing asylum seekers, described how they stacked refrigerators and other furniture in front of a door to barricade themselves against a mob that had violently entered the building. Residents reported fleeing their homes as rioters invaded their yards.

Police union president Tiffany Lynch estimated on Thursday, August 8, that more than 100 police officers were injured in the riots, some of whom required hospital treatment.

Merseyside Police Chief Constable said some of the injured officers “feared they would not make it home” to their families.

The wave of violence has also sparked concern outside the UK, with Malaysia, Nigeria, Australia and India issuing travel warnings and urging people to remain vigilant and avoid protests.

It is a “nuanced picture” with a degree of local coordination, but also many cases where “locals are responding to what they see on social media, what they see out on their streets, and just getting involved,” a police source told the PA news agency.

BBC Home Office editor Mark Easton was in Sunderland on Friday night, where far-right rioters attacked police, set fire to an advice centre next to a police station, threw stones at a mosque and looted shops.

But just like masked thugs, he also saw families cheering them on – Mothers and fathers with strollers and children, wrapped in the St. George’s flag.

While some were intent on violence, there were also people who initially had concerns about immigration and wanted to exercise their right to peaceful protest.

One of those people, who took part in an anti-immigration demonstration in Rotherham on Sunday, told the BBC that the violent scenes at a hotel housing asylum seekers were “absolutely barbaric… that’s not what we’re here for.”

Others may be lash out in a general feeling of frustrationsaid a volunteer at the Abdullah Quilliam Mosque in Liverpool.

Clashes between violent groups and counter-protesters broke out in several cities. In Bristol, anti-racism protesters said they linked arms to stop rival demonstrators storming a building housing asylum seekers.

There was Riots in Birmingham when a group – mostly made up of young Asian men – gathered to protest against an alleged right-wing extremist march that did not take place.

By Friday, August 9, around 600 arrests had been made and more than 150 people had been charged, including children as young as 11 years old.

Sir Keir has condemned what he called “right-wing extremist violence.” He has promised prosecution and conviction, “regardless of the obvious reasons or motives,” and said those involved in the violence, including those “who incite this action on the Internet,” would regret it.

The government said a “standing army” of specialized officers would combat the unrest and police would share information on violent groups.

The company said it also works with social media companies to ensure misinformation and disinformation are removed.

And it is said that there will be more than 500 new prison places available to ensure that those involved in the violence can be arrested.

Prosecutors are considering charging some suspects with terrorism and extraditing influential people from abroad who are believed to have played a role in the unrest, the Attorney General told the BBC.

Communities braced for a night of unrest on Wednesday, August 7, after it was revealed that a list purporting to contain the names and addresses of immigration lawyers had been circulated online.

However, the planned protests against immigration did not take place in most places.

Instead, scores of people took to the streets to participate in peaceful protests against racism – a response that Mark Barton, Durham’s former police chief, praised as “inspiring”.

After the first outbreaks of unrest, the communities responded in full force with clean-up operations and expressions of solidarity with those affected.

In Southport, dozens of residents – still in shock from the killing of the girls on Monday – came with brooms and shovels to help after the violence.

Craftsmen also offered to rebuild walls and replace windows free of charge.

Fundraisers have been launched for some of those affected – one of them was a token of appreciation for a mosque in Hartlepool and its original fundraising target of £200 was exceeded within 15 minutes.

Religious leaders in Merseyside have called on people to “keep calm and peace” and remember that “there is far more that unites us than divides” following the knife attack in Southport.