Suspected Foreign Agitators Boost UK Extremists to Inflame Riots

Suspected foreign state-backed actors and UK domestic extremists have coalesced online to stoke racism and incite violence across the UK، taking advantage of services from TikTok to the messaging service Telegram.

Over the last 10 days، channels on the social media site Telegram، prominent accounts on X and self-described British patriots on ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok have pushed users to appear at centers for asylum-seekers and take part in demonstrations that later turned violent. Other accounts have spread false allegations about members of the Islamic community.

Using stolen British identities

Along with homegrown posts، UK authorities now suspect foreign state-backed actors are using bots and accounts with stolen British identities on X to amplify anti-immigration sentiment، according to people familiar with the matter. Conversations between Russian-speaking trolls focused on how they have infiltrated channels on Telegram، a platform used by the British far-right to organize anti-Muslim demonstrations.

The barrage of posts across numerous high-traffic websites comes after an assailant fatally stabbed three young girls in the town of Southport in Northern England. A judge took the unusual step of identifying the young suspect، a teenager born in Wales to Rwandan parents، in a bid to counter disinformation and quell the unrest.

Even so، riots have erupted in isolated pockets across the country، particularly in the north، where in Rotherham hundreds of demonstrators tried to break into a Holiday Inn housing migrants. Police forces deployed extra officers and said they were ready to arrest hundreds more far-right activists if they followed through with plans circulated online to converge on immigration centers Wednesday night.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned social media companies last week that crimes were taking place “on your premises” as violence erupted. His office said Monday that the government had seen evidence of foreign state involvement in online bot activity but declined to offer examples or name any countries involved.

Suspicious activities

Agencies including the Home Office and the National Crime Agency — Britain’s equivalent of the FBI — are investigating، his office said. Authorities are probing suspicious activity، including the manipulation of hashtags on X and use of bots to increase followers، according to the people، who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing inquiries.

Elon Musk، the owner of X، has made several provocative posts on the platform، including one saying “civil war is inevitable” that drew sharp criticism from Starmer’s government. Neither X — formerly known as Twitter — nor Telegram responded to requests for comment.

Amorphous Online Network

Extremists are leveraging lax content moderation on Telegram to organize their messaging، according to researchers examining the activity. Far-right activists operate a decentralized، amorphous online network based on shared ideology، said Zoe Manzi، an analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue، a think tank dedicated to human rights.

“They’re being strategic about the particular platforms they use for what purpose،” she said. “It’s a combination of covert organizing and a broadcast to a committed audience.”

Some right-wing commentators and Britons used #FarRightThugsUnite to criticize the use of that label by Starmer’s government to describe those taking part. The trend emerged after mosques were targeted and immigration centers came under threat during riots across Britain in the last week، with hundreds of people arrested for taking part in violent disorder and looting.

Many of those posting on X with the #FarRightThugsUnite hashtag appeared to be genuine Britons complaining about being described as far-right. British authorities suspect that other accounts are part of a coordinated effort to amplify the hashtag on X، and are potentially backed by a foreign state، the people said.

Dubious accounts appeared to have followed thousands of bot accounts on X in a bid to increase their own followings، and often have near-identical bios، typically describing themselves as British patriots، former members of the police or military، and supporters of Brexit or the right-wing Reform UK party. Several such accounts carry photographs purporting to be of their owners but which appeared to have been stolen from other genuine social media profiles.

Russian Language Channels

Separately، Bloomberg News identified evidence of activity by Russian speakers plotting to inflame tensions on far-right Telegram channels.

Several users in Russian language channels posted about how they had been deliberately stirring British far-right channels to agitate members. The administrator of a Russian-speaking channel called “Old England” sent a screenshot from what appeared to be a far-right UK Telegram chat room، with messages saying “from Russia with love” or “we support you” — both in English and Russian، to a supportive reception from Russian speakers.

The UK government declined to comment. The National Crime Agency was “supporting partners and the wider law enforcement response to the violent disorder، including through specialist intelligence collection and development،” a spokesperson said.

Other Telegram channels with a history of promoting far-right content have also taken an active role. The Southport Wake Up channel، until recently a landing page for local conspiracy theorists، had become a hub for explicit calls for violence before it disappeared from public view. It had thousands of members، with neo-Nazi propaganda and messages urging followers to take action on behalf of white people.

“They have managed to thread the language of conspiracy theories around anti-migrant rhetoric،” said Joe Ondrak، a senior researcher for the anti-disinformation group Logically.