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    UK MPs warn of repeat of 2024 riots unless online misinformation is tackled
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    UK MPs warn of repeat of 2024 riots unless online misinformation is tackled

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    1. Wagamaga on

      Failures to properly tackle online misinformation mean it is “only a matter of time” before viral content triggers a repeat of the 2024 summer riots, MPs have warned.

      Chi Onwurah, the chair of the Commons science and technology select committee, said ministers seemed complacent about the threat and this was putting the public at risk

      The committee said it was disappointed in the government’s response to its recent report warning social media companies’ business models contributed to disturbances after the Southport murders.

      Replying to the committee’s findings, the government rejected a call for legislation tackling generative artificial intelligence platforms and said it would not intervene directly in the online advertising market, which MPs claimed helped incentivise the creation of harmful material after the attack.

      Onwurah said the government agreed with most of its conclusions but had stopped short of backing its recommendations for action.

      Accusing ministers of putting the public at risk, Onwurah said: “The government urgently needs to plug gaps in the Online Safety Act (OSA), but instead seems complacent about harms from the viral spread of legal but harmful misinformation. Public safety is at risk, and it is only a matter of time until the misinformation-fuelled 2024 summer riots are repeated.”

      MPs said in a report titled Social Media, Misinformation and Harmful Algorithms that inflammatory AI images had been posted on social media platforms in the wake of the stabbings, in which three children died, and warned AI tools have made it easier to create hateful, harmful or deceptive content.

      In its response published by the committee on Friday, the government said new legislation was not needed and that AI-generated content is already covered by the OSA, which regulates material on social media platforms. It said introducing further laws would hamper its implementation.

      However, the committee pointed to testimony from Ofcom in which an official at the communications regulator said AI chatbots are not 100% captured by the act and further consultation with the tech industry was needed.

    6. TheNoGnome on

      Can we start with Elon Musk?

      Owning Twitter whilst winding up the world is a dangerous combo.

    7. GarrodRanX2 on

      It’s misinformation that a migrant at the Epping hotel sexually assaulted a 14 year old, is it?

    8. JamesZ650 on

      Probably the best way is just put the information out there asap when those sort of incidents happen, like they already did recently.

    9. TheLyam on

      It is objectively a good thing to tackle misinformation, and you have to question why people wouldn’t want to.

    10. Nima-night on

      Remove the nazi hate platform X and Facebook . These American corporations are run to serve disinformation to the UK people due to the owners and their right wing algorithm.

    11. FactCheckYou on

      this country is turning into an open-air prison, and our MP’s and News Reporters are the prison guards

    12. Durzo_Blintt on

      Considering the major news sites also produce misinformation in order to get engagement, I’m going to go ahead and say it’s not gonna happen.

    13. Mintyxxx on

      The only way to combat misinformation is through education and critical thinking skills. It’s not that hard to find what the truth is then you can make up your own mind based on your beliefs, not someone else’s

    14. ArcticAlmond on

      Here we fucking go.

      You can’t be trusted to come to your own opinions on the matter, citizen. Here are your government approved news sources.

    17. GhostRiders on

      And?

      You think the Government doesn’t want Riots?

      Riots are cum candy to any Government. It just gives them an excuse (like they need one) to give even more powers to the Police, to stop more large gatherings, protests, reason to introduce Digital ID’s and Facial Recognition Camera’s etc etc etc..

    18. hdhddf on

      it doesn’t help that the government keeps on saying and doing stupid things, they’re burning political capital they just don’t have

    20. RgrTehCabinBoy on

      I’d honestly be quite pleased if the internet just got switched off wholesale, I’m aware of the irony here but I think we’d all be a lot happier in the long run.

    21. TheBlakeOfUs on

      This coming a few days after the Home Sec said we have ‘Lost Control Of Our Boarders’

      Fat chance of putting the genie back in the bottle

    22. whatsgoingon350 on

      As long as you can recognise that it’s not just a Right problem it’s also all over the left as well.

    23. JB_UK on

      Most politicians just have different values from the public. As the FT puts it:

      > Politicians and voters are generally aligned on economic issues, but the public is consistently to the right of politicians on culture

      > Mainstream politicians across the West have become misaligned with the public on migration and integration.

      https://x.com/JochenBittner/status/1971473292633763941/photo/2

      Or you can see in this peer reviewed research from King’s College that politicians are on average significantly more socially liberal than their voters:

      https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-Changing-Values-Coalition-of-the-Conservative-and-Labour-Parties-2015-2019-Source_fig4_350420165

      What is happening is the public is actually making their politicians accountable for running a government which matches the values of the public, not the political class. And of course the political class is appalled.