Good morning. Ten years after the murder of MP Jo Cox by a rightwing extremist, her sister Kim Leadbeater, now an MP herself, issued a clear and urgent summons. In an interview on the Today in Focus podcast, she proposed that political hatred in Britain is worse now than at the time of her sister’s killing, but insisted “those voices who are sowing the division are in the minority.” “They are very loud. But the rest of us then have got a duty to drown them out and tell the good stories of this country,” she said.
But what if one of those loud voices belongs to Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who owns one of the largest social media platforms, reinstated Britain’s foremost far-right agitator Tommy Robinson, and amplifies a highly networked transnational far-right movement to his 240 million followers? The start of the week was dominated by debate about keeping children safe around social media – today I want to talk about another online harm that is fomenting offline violence and contributing to a feeling that British streets are hostile, particularly for people of colour.
Five big stories
UK news | A Russian warship fired warning shots within a few hundred metres of a British pleasure yacht sailing across the Channel amid heightened tensions between London and Moscow. UK politics | The Lib Dems will urge Andy Burnham to end Labour’s “torpor and timidity” towards the EU as they call for the UK to rejoin the single market. Middle East | Iran’s top diplomat has said a peace deal with the US would require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon. Media | A BBC presenter lauded for his appeal to young male audiences has a history of making abusive and misogynistic remarks about women. US news | Joe Biden’s decision to seek a second term was “a terrible mistake” that cost Democrats the presidency, Hillary Clinton has declared.
In depth: ‘Planning is being done quite openly and explicitly’
The racist disorder on the streets of Belfast, Glasgow, Southampton and elsewhere followed a familiar pattern, says political correspondent Ben Quinn. They can be described as “trigger events”: the far right take a tragedy, attach it to an existing narrative about immigration, and call for offline protest. In Belfast, this resulted in ethnic minority families being burnt out of their homes.
We also saw it in the race riots that followed the Southport killings in summer 2024, fuelled by online misinformation. In just two years, the mechanics have changed significantly, with far-right organising happening in plainer sight than ever. “After Southport, far-right activists gathered and planned in private on Telegram, then X was used to amplify those plans. Facebook was used for astroturfing initiatives to get local communities involved,” Ben says. “After the sentencing of Henry Nowak’s killer, planning is being done quite openly and explicitly on X.”
This was amplified by Musk himself, who shared details of planned demonstrations across Britain and Northern Ireland, seized on by rightwing politicians elsewhere in Europe. An event that gets shared repeatedly is the mass stabbing at a rightwing demonstration in Mannheim, Germany, where a police officer died.
It’s impossible to overestimate Musk’s impact on what X users see. Guardian analysis found he has posted almost daily about alleged threats to the white race. He endorses politicians like Rupert Lowe, who called for “millions” of deportations after the Belfast stabbing. AI-generated images and videos also inflame local anger, such as memes after police released bodycam footage of Nowak’s arrest, and generalised fakery of “migrant gangs”. TikTok is emerging as a platform where content crosses over to large numbers of non-politically engaged users.
The piggyback effect
The riots in Belfast could have been worse had Tommy Robinson attended in person rather than encouraging from the sidelines. “I don’t think the British far right quite understood the Northern Irish dynamics,” Ben says. Many proposed protest points failed to materialise. “The numbers are not really there unless it’s something Robinson spends months organising, like the Unite the Kingdom rallies.”
What the far right find more effective offline is to “piggyback on an authentic local event”, like protests against the Bell Hotel in Epping after an asylum seeker sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl. Those protests grew bigger with buy-in from local people, Reform councillors, and extreme far-right characters.
The normalisation of hate speech
This highly networked online activity also has consequences for language. At protests, Ben has witnessed how “the language and slogans people use jump from X to the real world.” “A phrase like ‘re-migration’ was beyond the pale a few years ago,” he says. The explicitly racist concept advocates for mass expulsion of non-white residents. “It is now used by Tommy Robinson on a routine basis. It may make its way into mainstream conservative discourse.”
Hate speech is becoming normalised on X. The Guardian reported that the social inclusion thinktank British Future is accusing X of giving racists “impunity” after the platform refused to bar posts using the N-word and P-word.
Deplatforming division
After the racist riots in Belfast, Keir Starmer vowed to crack down on platforms fuelling division. Ministers plan to amend the Online Safety Act to require social media firms to act faster to remove inflammatory content when offline violence erupts, but this won’t take effect until mid-July at the earliest. The government is leaving any official reprimand of X to Ofcom.
Dr Avaes Mohammad of British Future argues there is merit in continuing to report offensive posts and informing Ofcom when they’re not taken down. “As citizens, we’re all capable of gathering data.” Media consultant Pat Younge called on Starmer to regulate social media platforms as we do broadcasters. On the podcast Over the Top, Under the Radar, Younge said: “Starmer needs to grow a pair – we need to act and the public will be with him. Because this isn’t free speech, it’s an abuse of power.” But it’s too easy to personalise this around Starmer’s weakness, he added: “Where are the trade unions? Where is civic society? Our institutions are being hollowed out and we need organisations to take a stand.”
What else we’ve been reading
This long read by Tobias Jones is a fascinating tale involving funerals, arrests, divorces, football ultras, a lottery winner, and 1970s terrorist group the Red Brigades. Jessica Murray meets three “stubborn northern working mums” who took on developers and helped push through the biggest overhaul of the archaic leasehold system. Zoe Williams writes about a secret scheme that lets you buy tax-free plonk while visiting France for free.
World Cup 2026
On the pitch | France 3-1 Senegal: Kylian Mbappé was ‘ruthlessly efficient’. Argentina 3-0 Algeria: Lionel Messi’s hat-trick ties him with Miroslav Klose as all-time leading scorer. Erling Haaland scored a brace against Iraq, and Uruguay’s Maximiliano Araújo scored a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia.
Off the pitch | Tunisia appoint Hervé Renard as new manager after sacking Sabri Lamouchi. Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa defends his unconventional official portrait. Meet the football fans being paid £37,000 to watch every World Cup match from inside a glass box in Times Square.
Today’s fixtures | Portugal v DR Congo, 6pm BST on BBC; England v Croatia, 9pm BST on ITV; Ghana v Panama, 12am BST on ITV; Uzbekistan v Colombia, 3am BST on BBC.
The front pages
“Russian warship opens fire in the Channel to warn off British yacht” is the Guardian’s front page. The Telegraph runs “Russian warship fires shots in Channel”, the Times “Russian warship fires at yacht in the Channel”, and the i Paper “Retired UK couple reveal ‘scary’ clash in Channel with Russian warship”. The Express says “Putin’s warship opens fire”, the Mail “Putin opens fire in the Channel”, and the Sun “Vlad fires on Brit OAPs in Channel”. The FT leads with “SpaceX races past Amazon as fifth most valuable group”, the Mirror “It’s not too late for Labour”, and Metro “Here we owe!” ahead of England’s match.
Today in Focus: The Latest
Donald Trump has urged Russia to ‘make a deal’ with Ukraine as G7 leaders meet. European leaders hope to capture Trump’s attention to speak about Ukraine, with his focus more on the US-Israeli war against Iran.
The Upside
Children in the Netherlands are some of the most healthy and happy kids in the world, thanks to a century-old walking tradition called Avondvierdaagse. The four-day evening walk has children, parents, and teachers embark on 5-10km excursions. About half a million people take part annually in 700 locations. The walk helps children connect with their community and build resilience. “I like that it’s something that happens each year and you get exercise,” says 13-year-old Ansel Howard.
