Ofcom is recommending that apps change their algorithms so that content which is illegal or harmful is down-ranked for children’s accounts.

Media regulator Ofcom has called for social media organisations to change their algorithms to prevent misinformation from spreading so easily, following rioting that broke out after the killing of three girls in Southport this summer.

Billionaire owner of X, Elon Musk, came in for criticism for allowing misinformation, fake news and extremist content to be shared on the platform following the horrific killings. The far-right were spreading misinformation about the identity of the attacker, claiming that he had arrived in the UK via a small boat with a number of far-right social media accounts claiming that the attacker was Muslim, a migrant, refugee or foreigner. Much of this misinformation circulated on X, as far-right rioters attacked mosques, assaulted police officers and targeted hotels with asylum seekers.

The knifeman was later revealed to be Cardiff-born Axel Rudakubana.

Ofcom chief executive, Melanie Dawes, has written a letter to the secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, Peter Kyle, writing: “Posts about the Southport incident and subsequent events from high-profile accounts reached millions of users, demonstrating the role that virality and algorithmic recommendations can play in driving divisive narratives in a crisis period.”

“Most online services took rapid action in response to the situation, but responses were uneven.”

Dawes wrote the letter after Kyle’s request for information about whether Ofcom would be targeting online misinformation in the next update of its illegal harms code of practice, which social media companies will be required to sign up to when the online safety bill comes into force.

Ofcom is recommending that apps change their algorithms so that content which is illegal or harmful is down-ranked for children’s accounts.

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

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