Man in Pakistan faces cyber terror charge over false posts linked to UK riots

Lahore: A Pakistani man appeared in court on Aug 21 to face charges of cyber terrorism after allegedly spreading disinformation on his clickbait website thought to have fuelled anti-immigration riots in Britain.

Farhan Asif was accused of publishing an article on his Channel3Now website falsely claiming that a Muslim asylum seeker was suspected in a deadly knife attack on children in Britain.

The British authorities have blamed online misinformation for sparking days of riots, which targeted mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers, as well as police officers and other properties.

“He is a 31-year-old software engineer with no journalism credentials, apart from running the Channel3Now website, which served as a source of income for him,” a senior official at Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency said, on condition of anonymity.

“Initial investigations indicate that his sole intent was to make money through clickbait content.”

Asif, who appeared at a Lahore district court on Aug 21, was charged with cyber terrorism and remanded to custody for one day, the official said.

The article with the false information was published on Channel3Now just hours after the attack and was widely cited in viral social media posts.

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More than a dozen English towns and cities saw unrest and riots after the July 29 knife attack that killed three girls during a dance class in Southport.

Axel Rudakubana, the man charged with murder and attempted murder over the stabbing spree, was born in Britain to parents who hail from Rwanda, an overwhelmingly Christian country.

Officials have blamed far-right elements for helping to stir up the disorder.