“@Ofcom, you should be seriously looking to sanction this mob for posting this kind of inflammatory rubbish!!”
Right-wing news channel GB News has been slammed for carrying out a ‘disgraceful’ online poll asking if the “left elite are to blame for the violence in Southport”.
It comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer held a crisis meeting with police chiefs following rioting in the wake of the Southport attack, which saw unrest spread across the country earlier this week. Starmer described the chaotic scenes that unfolded in the aftermath of the stabbings in Southport as the “actions of a tiny, mindless minority” and condemned “far-right hatred”.
Violent far-right demonstrations have taken place this week, following the mass stabbing in Southport – the worst attack on children in the country in recent history.
Three young girls were killed on Monday in an attack which took place during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. Eight other children suffered stab wounds and at least two are still in a critical condition, alongside two adults who are also still in hospital.
In the wake of the attack, rioting broke out in Southport, with a mosque also attacked, resulting in 27 police officers being taken to hospital. Police have said they believe the men involved are part of the far-right English Defence League.
After recent events, GB News decided to run a ‘poll of the day’ in which it asked: “Are the left elite to blame for the violence in Southport as they continue to smear and ignore angry communities? VOTE NOW”.
The poll caused widespread condemnation, with Brendan Cox, the husband of murdered Labour MP Jo Cox, writing: “PoLl oF ThE dAY: WTF is this? Almost like GB News might be trying to distract attention from their own consistent record of driving anti-Muslim & anti-migrant propaganda whipping up hate and inflaming tensions…”
Another social media user wrote: “This is unbelievable – a media platform that claims it is serious, mainstream, just looks to shift blame away from the thugs & crooks, who disrespected a town in shock, with their racist violence. #GBNews IS the problem.”
Others called on Ofcom to take action against the channel, with one user writing: “@Ofcom, you should be seriously looking to sanction this mob for posting this kind of inflammatory rubbish!!”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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