An analysis by the Guardian of social media activity on X related to civil disorder in Belfast and Southampton reveals that 54.7% of accounts posting about the events were located outside the United Kingdom. Among the 8,672 accounts whose combined posts exceeded 1,000 views, just 45.3% were identified as UK-based through the platform’s location function. The US accounted for 16.8% of posting accounts, Ireland 4.5%, and other European nations roughly 25%.
Examination of the most-viewed content showed seven of the 12 highest-engagement tweets originated from US accounts, including posts from Elon Musk and other right-wing commentators. Musk posted about the cases on 2 June, with his message about Henry Nowak receiving over 28 million views. Security researchers characterized the pattern as part of a broader effort by US-based actors to exploit moments of civil unrest to amplify divisive content and advance political narratives.
The broader dataset revealed significant problematic content. Nearly one-third of approximately 43,000 posts relating to the two incidents contained racist or anti-immigration comments. Belfast-related posts showed particularly concerning patterns, with almost 10% containing calls for violence or vigilante action. Some high-engagement accounts displayed signs of inauthenticity, including frequent username changes and profile characteristics suggesting coordinated activity.
Experts noted that X’s reduced content moderation, combined with algorithmic amplification of shocking content, creates conditions for foreign actors to disproportionately influence discourse around crisis events. Researchers described such moments as strategic opportunities for far-right actors to amplify narratives about social collapse and Western decline while simultaneously influencing UK and European politics. The analysis underscored concerns that the United Kingdom may be particularly vulnerable to such online manipulation campaigns.
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