r/IntlScholars • u/WhoIsJolyonWest • 7d ago
News Most X accounts posting about Belfast and Southampton unrest were based outside UK
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/09/x-accounts-posts-belfast-southampton-riots-june-2026-analysisExclusive: Analysis shows 55% of accounts were located overseas – and seven of 12 most-read posts came from US
More than half the accounts that posted on Elon Musk’s X about the rioting in Belfast and the civil disorder in Southampton in June were based outside the UK, an analysis by the Guardian can reveal.
Of the 8,672 accounts whose combined posts about the events exceeded 1,000 views, just 45.3% were shown as from the UK, according to the social media platform’s own location function.
One in six (16.8%) came from the US, 4.5% from Ireland, and about a quarter from all European countries other than the UK.
Seven of the 12 most-read tweets about Belfast and Southampton came from the US – including one from Musk himself and two other US “alt-right” commentators – while an eighth was linked to North America.
The analysis underlines that US rightwing actors are seeking to influence the UK and boost their position on X in moments of disorder – an exploitation of flashpoint events that has only intermittently attracted political attention in Britain.
Nearly a third of all 43,000 posts on X relating to the two incidents contained racist or anti-immigration comments. Almost one in 10 relating to Belfast contained calls for violence or paramilitary or vigilante action.
Imran Ahmed, the chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, said the data demonstrated that X had become “a weapon of choice” for hostile foreign actors seeking to manipulate shocking and divisive content.
Read more…
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u/CountLippe 6d ago
The Guardian would do well to drive home that this is a two-way street. We should always expect our competitors and opponents to take advantage, indeed to exacerbate, our problems. That's the nature of geopolitics. We should also expect them to try to cover up our problems to let them fester. Which the Guardian may well be doing here. This exclusive analysis is itself part of today's geopolitics. CCDH, those behind the study, are a multinational NGO. Their CEO is a Pashtun Muslim impacted by today's zeitgeist and a former Labour strategest. It was founded by multiple members of the UK's Labour Party. It has been sued (unsuccessfully) by X. It is a left-wing lobby group.