Riots, race and misinformation – has alarmist rhetoric on migration gone too far?

Think Change

The fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport by 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana back in July ignited riots which have swept across the UK and made global headlines.
What followed from the tragedy was a racist, Islamophobic and anti-migrant campaign fuelled by misinformation and disinformation, which spilled into the streets with targeted attacks on mosques and ethnic minorities.

This senseless violence again cast a spotlight on systemic issues of racism and inequality, and highlighted the potentially deadly consequences of our collective failure to tackle false information online, as well as the demonisation of migrants.

This episode dissects these problems, asking what the recent riots reveal about the rise of the far right in the UK and elsewhere, and how to counter alarmist rhetoric on migration. Our guests discuss how we can move forward towards a place of greater solidarity, understanding and trust.
Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI
• Afua Hirsch, Journalist
• Fizza Qureshi, CEO, Migrants’ Rights Network
• Marvin Rees, Visiting Senior Fellow, ODI and former Mayor of Bristol
• Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou, Director, Politics and Governance programme, ODI
  

Related resources

• Migration and Displacement Hub (ODI)
  
• Migration decision-making: beyond political rhetoric and guesswork (Event, ODI)
  
• As UK public attitudes toward migration are increasingly positive, it’s time for more balanced and evidence-based narratives (Blog, ODI)
  
• Public narratives and attitudes towards refugees and other migrants: UK country profile (Briefing, ODI)
  
• Public and political narratives and attitudes towards refugees and other migrants: implications for action (Project, ODI)
  
• Hearts and minds: How Europeans think and feel about immigration (Data visualisation, ODI)
  
• Why many policies to lower migration actually increase it (Blog, The Conversation)
  
• Humanitarian hypocrisy, double standards and the law in Gaza (Blog, ODI)
  
• Navigating narratives in Ukraine: humanitarian response amid solidarity and resistance (Blog, ODI)
  
• How to tackle mis/disinformation with a human centred approach (Blog, ODI)
  
• 10 things to know about misinformation and disinformation (Briefing, ODI)