Key facts
- Over half of X accounts discussing UK civil unrest in June were based outside the UK.
- Accounts posting about unrest in Belfast and Southampton originated from outside the UK.
- Many of these foreign accounts were based in the United States.
- Foreign accounts promoted anti-immigration narratives.
- The Guardian conducted an analysis of X accounts.
- The unrest occurred in June.
An analysis by The Guardian has revealed that foreign actors exploited civil unrest in the UK, with a significant portion of social media activity originating from outside the country. Specifically, over half of the accounts posting about civil unrest in Belfast and Southampton during June were found to be based outside the UK. Many of these accounts were identified as originating from the United States. These foreign-based accounts were observed to be promoting anti-immigration narratives. The findings suggest a coordinated effort by external entities to leverage and amplify domestic disturbances for their own agendas. This exploitation of social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) raises concerns about the spread of disinformation and the potential for foreign influence campaigns to target and manipulate public discourse on sensitive domestic issues within the UK. The Guardian's analysis underscores the challenges in identifying and mitigating such foreign interference in real-time.