"More than 1,100 people have been charged in connection to the summer 2024 riots. A small number of them were charged for offences related to their online activity. Their jail sentences which ranged from 12 weeks to seven years became a flashpoint for online criticism. The people behind the posts were variously defended, held up as a cause celebre and cast as political prisoners; their posts minimised and repeated;"
"The people behind the posts were variously defended, held up as a cause celebre and cast as political prisoners; their posts minimised and repeated; their prosecution misrepresented as an attack on free speech (the majority of those prosecuted for online offences faced charges of stirring up racial hatred). The posts themselves didn't appear on corners of the internet more readily associated with the far right such as Telegram, Parler, Gettr, 4chan and 8kun but on mainstream social media platforms including X and Instagram"
More than 1,100 people were charged in connection with the summer 2024 riots, with a small number charged for offences related to online activity. Jail sentences ranged from 12 weeks to seven years and became a flashpoint for online criticism. The majority of those prosecuted for online offences faced charges of stirring up racial hatred. The posts appeared primarily on mainstream platforms such as Facebook, X and Instagram, often on personal pages or in public groups. Publicly available sources were used to trace around two dozen charged individuals; five were linked to three public Facebook groups. Mapping revealed dozens of duplicated defensive posts and a wider interconnected ecosystem of groups, shared membership, moderators and admins that is growing in membership.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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