The toxic role of social media
Soon after the knife attack on Monday night, graphic footage of the incident started circulating online.
The videos showed bystanders pulling the attacker off the victim until police arrived and made an arrest at the scene.
Many, including Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn, praised the intervening members of the public for showing “the very best of humanity.”
But another rhetoric also spread, with calls for violence and the stoking of tensions surrounding immigration.
Alodid, the suspected attacker and Sudanese national, entered the U.K. in 2023 and was given refugee status that same year.
He was granted leave to remain in the UK until 2028, the Home Office said.
Far-right figure Tommy Robinson, born Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was among those to hone in on the refugee status of the suspect.
In a series of online posts, he called for people in the U.K. to take to the streets.
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