False asylum seeker claims spark UK protests after dance studio murder

A stabbing at a dance studio in Southport, Merseyside, UK, on July 29, 2024, led to violent protests across the country after false claims spread online that the suspect was an asylum seeker.

The attacker, Axel Rudakubana, a 17-year-old British-born citizen from Cardiff, pleaded guilty to murdering three young girls who were attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance event.

Disinformation falsely identifying Rudakubana as 'Ali Al-Shakati' fueled anti-immigrant sentiment and unrest in 23 towns over a week.

The Nerve's report, based on analysis of over 27 million social media posts and a YouGov survey, reveals how far-right networks amplified disinformation to incite real-world violence.

False narratives about the stabbing were seeded in niche online communities, reinforced through repetition, and opportunistically spread during crisis events by nationalist groups and global influencers like Elon Musk.