https://arab.news/8u5mz
Violent protests in the UK, such as those at a hotel housing asylum seekers in Epping, Essex, in recent days, demonstrate how the far right is intensifying the use of misinformation, aided by an unshackled social media realm, to spread fear, hate and calls for action that could explode into riots throughout the country.
The latest protests erupted almost exactly a year after the violent riots in Southport and clashes in various UK cities in the wake of the shocking killings of three young girls who were stabbed to death at a dance class. Days of riots took place across the country after the killer was quickly framed as a migrant, even though he was a UK-born teenager whose family came to the country from Rwanda in the 1990s.
The violent scenes in Epping could be indicative of something that goes beyond asylum seekers and a hotel, with some parties applying a new political ideology that mobilizes hate and civil discord for political gain. Locals distanced themselves from the violence, saying it is not what the area stands for and that nothing like this has ever previously stirred the calm of the middle-class suburban town with a population of 12,000.
The Epping protests began after a 38-year-old asylum seeker, who only arrived in the country in late June, was arrested and charged with three counts of sexual assault. Ugly crimes like this, whether committed by locals or newcomers, are common in every country of the world. But they should be dealt with by the police and the justice system, not activists or groups with ulterior motives, who want to capitalize on them and cause social strife.
