How TikTok bots and AI have powered a resurgence in UK far-right violence

Less than three hours after the stabbing attack on Monday that led to the death of three children, an AI-generated image was shared on X by an account called Europe Invasion. It depicted bearded men in traditional Muslim dress outside the Houses of Parliament, one waving a knife, behind a crying child in a union jack T-shirt. The tweet, which has since been viewed 900,000 times, was captioned: "We must protect our children!" and shared by one of the most potent accounts for misinformation about the Southport stabbings. AI technology has been used in other ways, including an anti-immigration Facebook group that illustrated a call to attend a rally in Middlesbrough by generating an image of a large crowd at the town's cenotaph. Platforms like Suno – which employs AI to generate music complete with vocals and instruments – have been used to create online songs combining references to Southport with xenophobic content.