Mob violence has many fathers. It is a complex and often confusing phenomenon, both organised and disorganised, both intentional and unthinking. The causes of the far-right rioting and - let us be unequivocal about the nature of these acts - the political violence verging into terrorism that we have seen over the past fortnight will take time and careful analysis of the evidence to disentangle.

But what is clear already is the central role played by social media. These riots, which have afflicted communities across England and Northern Ireland, were organised by networks of far-right agitators through social media platforms like Telegram and messaging apps like WhatsApp. Wider groups were mobilised by advertising "protests" via more mainstream platforms like Facebook. Other platforms like X (Twitter) have hosted content supporting and encouraging the unrest and have repeatedly refused to take down racist abuse and incitement to violence.

The largely unchecked power of social media platforms and oligarchic owners like Elon Musk, himself responsible for amplifying much of the hateful, divisive, and downright lying content he should be moderating, has become a critical issue. These platforms have become breeding grounds for hate speech and political violence, with algorithms that amplify divisive content in the name of clicks and advertising dollars.

This isn’t just a UK problem, it’s a long-standing global crisis. In 2022, researchers at the Center for Countering Digital Hate used the reporting tools provided by Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube to report 530 posts containing dehumanising content targeting Muslims with racist caricatures, conspiracy theories, and false claims. The social media platforms failed to act on........

© Herald Scotland