UK court sends man behind bars for three years for spreading disinformation and racist hate during recent unrest
A man has been sentenced to three years in prison in the United Kingdom for spreading racist hate through social media during the recent unrest there. Wayne O'Rourke (age 35) from the town of Lincoln had more than 90 000 followers on X and published content inciting racial intolerance there between 28 July and 8 August.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reports that O’Rourke spread disinformation about the 29 July deaths of three young girls in Southport. He alleged their deaths were the result of a Muslim-perpetrated terrorist attack, which turned out not to be true.
O’Rourke also published a post calling on the residents of Southport to “get out on the street”. That post was seen 1.7 million times.
Among his other controversial posts was an image of a mosque on County Road in Liverpool and a photograph of a burning car in Sunderland accompanied by the words: “Sunderland, go on lads.” Defense attorney Lucia Harrington said her client did not intend to spread hateful content, but had become “caught up in the media frenzy”.
O’Rourke previously worked as a parcel sorter but left work to become his partner’s carer. According to his attorney, he wants to re-educate himself about the things he got wrong in his posts.
Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight rejected that argument and emphasized that O’Rourke was not just a passive participant, but an active inciter of the unrest. “The flames [were] fanned by keyboard warriors like you,” the judge said.
O’Rourke’s claim that his posts had just been “black humor” was also rejected by Judge Knight. Lincolnshire Police stressed that they would take fast, decisive action against anybody sharing harmful content online.
“This action shows that everyone is responsible for their actions – whether they be in public, or online,” said Chief Superintendent Kate Anderson.
