The family of the victim of the attempted decapitation in Belfast condemns violence against migrants

LondonThe victim of Monday night's attempted decapitation that has shocked Belfast is in a coma and in critical condition after suffering multiple stab wounds to the head, neck, face, and back, according to various British media reports. The man, Stephen Ogilvie, 44, has a disability and suffers from schizophrenia. As a result of his injuries, he has lost his left eye and his right is damaged.

The false news of his death has been repeatedly spread on social media. His family has condemned this manipulation and the serious riots and indiscriminate attacks against immigrant minority members that took place last night in the Northern Irish capital.

In fact, in a statement, he explicitly praised the contribution of migrants to Northern Irish society, stating: "Riots are not welcome. Peaceful protests are the only way forward. We have many migrants who make a very valuable contribution to our country. We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility."

The burning of houses, cars, a city bus, and a police vehicle, as well as garbage containers, has reproduced scenes in the streets of the provincial capital that evoked the toughest years of the Troubles, the sectarian violence between members of the Protestant and Catholic communities.

Up to eight families and twenty-seven people in total have lost their homes as a result of the fires and have had to apply for emergency housing. Eyewitness accounts and images from social media and television show groups of masked individuals assaulting private homes and setting them on fire. In some cases, families with children had to leave under the protection of the police and firefighters. The migrant minority population in Northern Ireland accounts for only 3.5% of the population; in England, it reaches 18%.

The situation in Belfast is currently tense. Public transport has been suspended from 5:00 PM, and some cultural events have been canceled. Another protest demonstration has been called for outside the Stormont assembly, on the outskirts of the capital, starting at 7:00 PM this Wednesday.

For the moment, the Northern Ireland police have arrested and charged two people with participation in riots and criminal damage. In Glasgow, where there were also incidents, although not as serious as those in Northern Ireland, three protesters have also been accused of participating in riots that social media continuously fuels.

, when the murder of three girls attending a summer workshop dedicated to Taylor Swift was followed by misinformation on social media about the perpetrator's identity and affiliation, that was falsely linked to radical IslamismImages broadcast on social media showed the attacker immobilizing the victim on the ground, in the north of Belfast, while repeatedly stabbing him. A group of neighbors came to the rescue and stunned the attacker with a hurling stick – the national sport of Ireland – until the police arrived. The attack triggered the serious riots mentioned earlier on Tuesday night, during which masked groups attacked migrant homes and businesses and set fire to buses and police vehicles.

A pattern of agitation

The Belfast riots are part of an increasingly common pattern of violence fueled by social media and algorithms that prioritize the most emotional and extremist content. A BBC investigation has shown that they tend to follow a similar sequence: a violent incident generates strong public outcry, images go viral rapidly, and the suspect's identity – whether correct or not – becomes the center of the debate. This happened, for example, two years ago in Southport, when the murder of three girls attending a summer workshop dedicated to Taylor Swift was followed by misinformation on social networks about the perpetrator's identity and affiliation, falsely linking him to radical Islamism.two years ago in Southport, when the murder of three girls attending a summer workshop dedicated to Taylor Swift was followed by misinformation on social networks about the perpetrator's identity and affiliation, falsely linking him to radical Islamism.

In the case of Belfast, the massive dissemination of the attack video was followed by intense activity on the X network. Anti-immigration profiles with high visibility amplified messages linking the incident to the government's immigration policy. These posts have been reinforced by recommendation algorithms and, in some cases, by interventions from influential figures such as Elon Musk or the far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who contributed to increasing indignation and social tension.

This mechanism has already been observed after the riots triggered in Southport, as well as following false accusations of gang rape in Epsom and after the murder of teenager Henry Nowak and the dissemination of police images of his arrest while, in fact, he was dying from another knife attack. Although the cases present relevant differences, the same pattern is recognizable: the accelerated spread of content that appeals to rage and fear, and which ends up directing hostility towards immigrant communities that often have no relation to the investigated events.

In response to the riots, the British government will announce next week a reform of the Online Safety Act to oblige social media platforms to remove illegal content more quickly during crisis situations. The Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology, Liz Kendall, has defended the measure, arguing that it seeks to prevent the spread of messages inciting violence and public disorder.

The Belfast outbreak reached Dublin this Wednesday afternoon, where a demonstration has been called in front of the Parliament of the Republic of Ireland to protest against immigration laws.