Judge acquits man accused of spreading fake news that sparked riots in Britain • The Register

A Pakistani court on Monday acquitted a man of cyberterrorism charges after he allegedly spread false news on social media sites that sparked riots across Britain earlier this month.

Farhan Asif, a 32-year-old freelance web developer, was arrested at his home in Lahore, Pakistan last week and interrogated for five days by the Pakistani FBI.

Federal authorities say Asif spread false information blaming an asylum seeker for a stabbing in July that left three children dead, even though the incident was actually carried out by a British-born teenager.

A BBC investigation linked Asif to a website called Channel3Now. Not only did the site falsely claim that the suspected killer arrived in the UK by boat last year, it also gave the suspect a false name, leading readers to believe he was Muslim. In fact, the attacker comes from a Christian family.

These and similar lies spread on the Internet were cited as the motive for a violent mob attack on a mosque near the crime scene. Shortly afterwards, xenophobic and Islamophobic riots broke out across the country, resulting in hundreds of arrests.

In court on Monday, Asif reportedly told the judge that he deleted his post within six hours after realizing it was false news.

Before ordering his release, the judge reportedly asked Asif whether he now realized the importance of being cautious when sharing information online.

This is the same question that some digital policy advocates have asked Elon Musk, including the Chamber of Progress, which earlier this month called on the billionaire to better moderate free speech at X – or resign if he is unwilling or unable to do so.

“Since the anti-immigrant attacks began, you have parroted far-right arguments, downplayed the severity of the harm, mocked the efforts of the British police in response to these unrests, and promoted further division,” the tech companies' advocacy group said in an August 7 letter about Musk, which was exclusively shared with The Register. “Your comments that 'civil war is inevitable' come dangerously close to attempting to justify further violence and destruction.” ®