The real story of the news website accused of fuelling riots
8 August 2024, 00:13 BST
What connects a dad living in Lahore in Pakistan, an amateur hockey player from Nova Scotia - and a man named Kevin from Houston, Texas?
They’re all linked to Channel3Now - a website whose story giving a false name for the 17-year-old charged over the Southport attack was widely quoted in viral posts on X. Channel3Now also wrongly suggested the attacker was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat last year.
This, combined with untrue claims the attacker was a Muslim from other sources, has been widely blamed for contributing to riots across the UK - some of which have targeted mosques and Muslim communities.
The BBC has tracked down several people linked to Channel3Now, spoken to their friends and colleagues, who have corroborated that they are real people, and questioned a person who claims to be the “management” at the site.
What I found appears to be a commercial operation attempting to aggregate crime news while making money on social media. I did not find any evidence to substantiate claims that Channel3Now’s misinformation could be linked to the Russian state.
The person claiming to be from Channel3Now’s management told me that the publication of the false name “shouldn’t have happened, but it was an error, not intentional”.
The false article did not have a named byline, and it is unclear exactly who wrote it.
Channel3Now later apologised for incorrectly naming the Southport attacker
robmatic wrote: ↑Fri Aug 02, 2024 1:00 pm a few decades ago people under the age of 40 were able to buy a house
They also didn't go on as many expensive holidays, eat out as much, pay for multiple streaming services, iphones, deliveroo, tattoos everywhere and so on....
Lots of this is rubbish though. Going to Spain etc is cheap (and people who bought homes cheaper 100% went on holidays), as are streaming services. A smartphone is a prerequisite to modern life. To buy a half decent home in SE England you’re talking £500,000. Minimum deposit? £50,000. Given you would need a combined income of over £100,000 to get a mortgage with that deposit you are more realistically talking a £100,000 deposit. This just isn’t achievable regardless of how miserable you make your life by scrimping.
Too old.
But on the other hand I've heard a glass of water at an Ibiza Club will set you back £20 - and I've heard not many make do with a vaso de agua all night.
They also didn't go on as many expensive holidays, eat out as much, pay for multiple streaming services, iphones, deliveroo, tattoos everywhere and so on....
Lots of this is rubbish though. Going to Spain etc is cheap (and people who bought homes cheaper 100% went on holidays), as are streaming services. A smartphone is a prerequisite to modern life. To buy a half decent home in SE England you’re talking £500,000. Minimum deposit? £50,000. Given you would need a combined income of over £100,000 to get a mortgage with that deposit you are more realistically talking a £100,000 deposit. This just isn’t achievable regardless of how miserable you make your life by scrimping.
Too old.
But on the other hand I've heard a glass of water at an Ibiza Club will set you back £20 - and I've heard not many make do with a vaso de agua all night.
There are certain areas of Spain that are cheap, but you really wouldn't want to go to them. The rest, nice parts, are far from cheap. Same with nearly all of Europe, few cheap destinations left.
Re: Angry White Men
Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2024 6:19 pm
by Biffer
Hugo wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2024 11:18 am
I'm not sure what thread this belongs in - could be many I suppose - but another general problem (specific to social media/media) is Piers Morgan.
I honestly despise the bloke with an absolute passion. Whenever there is a big issue (national or international) he throws his weight around opining on stuff in an utterly obnoxious fashion.
It is so lamentable that a tabloid hack with no real expertise of anything he talks about has positioned himself to be some kind of authority on current affairs.
Yeah, he's always poorly informed and trying to express things in a simple tabloid headline way. I think he reckons he's cutting through to the heart of the issue or something but some topics just can't be presented that way, because it leads to what we've seen in the last few days
Re: Angry White Men
Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2024 6:24 pm
by Margin__Walker
Morgan's a prick who says whatever he needs to to stay relevant. Doesn't matter which side of the political spectrum it falls on. There's nothing he won't confidently wade into.
As long as people are talking about him, he'll feel he's winning. The more people engage with him, the happier he is.
Re: Angry White Men
Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2024 7:03 pm
by Biffer
Bernie Spofforth, a South African living in England, who's a bit of an agitator on line, seems to have been arrested. She was one of the first to spread the false name, religion and immigration status of the attacker online
Re: Angry White Men
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2024 7:35 am
by Blackmac
I find the claim that the PSNI have requested 120 mutual support officers from Police Scotland to be pretty astonishing given the level of public order problems they have been used to facing in the past.
Re: Angry White Men
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2024 7:52 am
by Insane_Homer
Don't worry folks, the Daily Heil has changed it's tune in line with the prevailing wind, it's readers are all Libs now
Re: Angry White Men
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2024 8:45 am
by _Os_
Biffer wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2024 7:03 pm
Bernie Spofforth, a South African living in England, who's a bit of an agitator on line, seems to have been arrested. She was one of the first to spread the false name, religion and immigration status of the attacker online
Sounds like another sad case of over integration.
Should've supported the greatest rugby team there is, ever was and ever will be, the Springboks. Watched Chasing the Sun a few times, then its superior sequel and greatest rugby documentary ever made Chasing the Sun 2. Then talked so much sense that rugby supporters around the world come to respect South African fans greatly, wishing for South African teams in all their competitions. Should've disputed Dupont is the GOAT because he hasn't won 4 RWCs back to back, the rest of the rugby world being so exhausted from applauding excellent well considered views like this they no longer have the strength to raise their arms and clap.
Biffer wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2024 7:03 pm
Bernie Spofforth, a South African living in England, who's a bit of an agitator on line, seems to have been arrested. She was one of the first to spread the false name, religion and immigration status of the attacker online
Sounds like another sad case of over integration.
Should've supported the greatest rugby team there is, ever was and ever will be, the Springboks. Watched Chasing the Sun a few times, then its superior sequel and greatest rugby documentary ever made Chasing the Sun 2. Then talked so much sense that rugby supporters around the world come to respect South African fans greatly, wishing for South African teams in all their competitions. Should've disputed Dupont is the GOAT because he hasn't won 4 RWCs back to back, the rest of the rugby world being so exhausted from applauding excellent well considered views like this they no longer have the strength to raise their arms and clap.
Biffer wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2024 7:03 pm
Bernie Spofforth, a South African living in England, who's a bit of an agitator on line, seems to have been arrested. She was one of the first to spread the false name, religion and immigration status of the attacker online
Sounds like another sad case of over integration.
Should've supported the greatest rugby team there is, ever was and ever will be, the Springboks. Watched Chasing the Sun a few times, then its superior sequel and greatest rugby documentary ever made Chasing the Sun 2. Then talked so much sense that rugby supporters around the world come to respect South African fans greatly, wishing for South African teams in all their competitions. Should've disputed Dupont is the GOAT because he hasn't won 4 RWCs back to back, the rest of the rugby world being so exhausted from applauding excellent well considered views like this they no longer have the strength to raise their arms and clap.
Joking, but also serious.
Or she could be an old school apartheid white South African.
Biffer wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2024 7:03 pm
Bernie Spofforth, a South African living in England, who's a bit of an agitator on line, seems to have been arrested. She was one of the first to spread the false name, religion and immigration status of the attacker online
Sounds like another sad case of over integration.
Should've supported the greatest rugby team there is, ever was and ever will be, the Springboks. Watched Chasing the Sun a few times, then its superior sequel and greatest rugby documentary ever made Chasing the Sun 2. Then talked so much sense that rugby supporters around the world come to respect South African fans greatly, wishing for South African teams in all their competitions. Should've disputed Dupont is the GOAT because he hasn't won 4 RWCs back to back, the rest of the rugby world being so exhausted from applauding excellent well considered views like this they no longer have the strength to raise their arms and clap.
Joking, but also serious.
Or she could be an old school apartheid white South African.
As with Musk it sounds like a trump card to foreigners but any white South African would look at his name and dismiss it as a factor. Someone who's an apartheid holdout doesn't have a name like she has, and if they're a woman as she is they don't marry someone with a name like that.
The vast majority of English speaking whites opposed apartheid, not just individually but as a community and over generations have voted for a succession of liberal opposition parties that promote that view. Musk's father was even a Pretoria councillor for one of those parties. Generally though white English speaking South Africans are apolitical and concerned with making money and business, not many bother with politics, that's the reputation among other South Africans too (being rich). If there's any political views the range is centre to extreme liberal, socialists are rare and proper right wing crazies rarer. In the UK some white English and NI Loyalists have taken part if race riots (Celts notably have not taken part), whatever it is in the identity (English nationalism?) doesn't exist in the English Speaking South African identity (ESSA is racially inclusive, the person just needs to be a primary language English speaker).
Musk has been radicalised on a very large public platform for all to see. It didn't start in 1980s SA, which like a lot of white English speakers he was probably oblivious to politically, it started in the modern West. Something similar seems to have happened to this woman, went crazy during lockdown and ended up fully in the Farage/GB News/TalkTV right wing tarpit.
Re: Angry White Men
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2024 12:18 pm
by Paddington Bear
My office has been evacuated due to riot threats. The five of us who made it in are stoically manning our posts from the pub watching the Olympics
Re: Angry White Men
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2024 12:27 pm
by Dinsdale Piranha
Paddington Bear wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2024 12:18 pm
My office has been evacuated due to riot threats. The five of us who made it in are stoically manning our posts from the pub watching the Olympics
Paddington Bear wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2024 12:18 pm
My office has been evacuated due to riot threats. The five of us who made it in are stoically manning our posts from the pub watching the Olympics
Thank you for your service.
Hero? No no the real hero is the partner with the company credit card, I’m just doing my duty
Re: Angry White Men
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2024 12:52 pm
by Paddington Bear
TedMaul wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2024 12:46 pm
London???
Yep. Eastern end of the square mile, they’re concerned about reports of issues in Whitechapel later.
_Os_ wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2024 8:45 am
Sounds like another sad case of over integration.
Should've supported the greatest rugby team there is, ever was and ever will be, the Springboks. Watched Chasing the Sun a few times, then its superior sequel and greatest rugby documentary ever made Chasing the Sun 2. Then talked so much sense that rugby supporters around the world come to respect South African fans greatly, wishing for South African teams in all their competitions. Should've disputed Dupont is the GOAT because he hasn't won 4 RWCs back to back, the rest of the rugby world being so exhausted from applauding excellent well considered views like this they no longer have the strength to raise their arms and clap.
Joking, but also serious.
Or she could be an old school apartheid white South African.
As with Musk it sounds like a trump card to foreigners but any white South African would look at his name and dismiss it as a factor. Someone who's an apartheid holdout doesn't have a name like she has, and if they're a woman as she is they don't marry someone with a name like that.
The vast majority of English speaking whites opposed apartheid, not just individually but as a community and over generations have voted for a succession of liberal opposition parties that promote that view. Musk's father was even a Pretoria councillor for one of those parties. Generally though white English speaking South Africans are apolitical and concerned with making money and business, not many bother with politics, that's the reputation among other South Africans too (being rich). If there's any political views the range is centre to extreme liberal, socialists are rare and proper right wing crazies rarer. In the UK some white English and NI Loyalists have taken part if race riots (Celts notably have not taken part), whatever it is in the identity (English nationalism?) doesn't exist in the English Speaking South African identity (ESSA is racially inclusive, the person just needs to be a primary language English speaker).
Musk has been radicalised on a very large public platform for all to see. It didn't start in 1980s SA, which like a lot of white English speakers he was probably oblivious to politically, it started in the modern West. Something similar seems to have happened to this woman, went crazy during lockdown and ended up fully in the Farage/GB News/TalkTV right wing tarpit.
exactly, she's called Bernadette Spofforth FFS, lived her whole adult life in the UK and doesn't even have a saffa accent
TedMaul wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2024 12:46 pm
London???
Yep. Eastern end of the square mile, they’re concerned about reports of issues in Whitechapel later.
Odd I’ve literally just left there, Aldgate.
Likewise, think it is a major overreaction borne out of the fact that the company we lease space off do not come in on a Friday at all and fancied saving some cash. Off to Lord’s early mind so I’m not complaining
Yep. Eastern end of the square mile, they’re concerned about reports of issues in Whitechapel later.
Odd I’ve literally just left there, Aldgate.
it's almost as if some slacker fancied a half day to watch the Olympics, & put on a funny accident & called in hoax
Re: Angry White Men
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2024 6:58 pm
by Blackmac
Some pretty hefty sentences, up to 4 years, getting handed out to morons spouting shit on Facebook. I would imagine that Labour Councillor Ricky Jones, who encouraged a large, volatile crowd to slit people's throats, must be absolutely shitting himself.
26 year old father of three, having already been convicted of theft, further fucks up his life and for what, exactly...?
Re: Angry White Men
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2024 9:08 pm
by epwc
I must admit I’m in two minds about the severity of the sentences. I guess they must have played a part in stopping the “protests”, but hmm….
Re: Angry White Men
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2024 9:36 pm
by Slick
epwc wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2024 9:08 pm
I must admit I’m in two minds about the severity of the sentences. I guess they must have played a part in stopping the “protests”, but hmm….
I’ve just been thinking about that this evening. They seem to be longer than would be normal for some of the offences, so is direction being given to the judiciary from government which would be pretty bad? If not, is it within a judges remit to give longer than normal sentences due to circumstances.
Also quite interesting in the latest Private Eye podcast that during and after the 2011 riots the left were talking about disenfranchised groups rather similarly to the latest narrative
Re: Angry White Men
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2024 10:02 pm
by Jock42
Blackmac wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2024 6:58 pm
Some pretty hefty sentences, up to 4 years, getting handed out to morons spouting shit on Facebook. I would imagine that Labour Councillor Ricky Jones, who encouraged a large, volatile crowd to slit people's throats, must be absolutely shitting himself.
I hope you've not retweeted it or you'll be joining him
Re: Angry White Men
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2024 7:17 am
by Uncle fester
If there's one benefit to all this, Douglas Murray has finally dropped the mask and stopped pretending to be a moderate.
_Os_ wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2024 8:45 am
Sounds like another sad case of over integration.
Should've supported the greatest rugby team there is, ever was and ever will be, the Springboks. Watched Chasing the Sun a few times, then its superior sequel and greatest rugby documentary ever made Chasing the Sun 2. Then talked so much sense that rugby supporters around the world come to respect South African fans greatly, wishing for South African teams in all their competitions. Should've disputed Dupont is the GOAT because he hasn't won 4 RWCs back to back, the rest of the rugby world being so exhausted from applauding excellent well considered views like this they no longer have the strength to raise their arms and clap.
Joking, but also serious.
Or she could be an old school apartheid white South African.
As with Musk it sounds like a trump card to foreigners but any white South African would look at his name and dismiss it as a factor. Someone who's an apartheid holdout doesn't have a name like she has, and if they're a woman as she is they don't marry someone with a name like that.
The vast majority of English speaking whites opposed apartheid, not just individually but as a community and over generations have voted for a succession of liberal opposition parties that promote that view. Musk's father was even a Pretoria councillor for one of those parties. Generally though white English speaking South Africans are apolitical and concerned with making money and business, not many bother with politics, that's the reputation among other South Africans too (being rich). If there's any political views the range is centre to extreme liberal, socialists are rare and proper right wing crazies rarer. In the UK some white English and NI Loyalists have taken part if race riots (Celts notably have not taken part), whatever it is in the identity (English nationalism?) doesn't exist in the English Speaking South African identity (ESSA is racially inclusive, the person just needs to be a primary language English speaker).
Musk has been radicalised on a very large public platform for all to see. It didn't start in 1980s SA, which like a lot of white English speakers he was probably oblivious to politically, it started in the modern West. Something similar seems to have happened to this woman, went crazy during lockdown and ended up fully in the Farage/GB News/TalkTV right wing tarpit.
Is there a distinction to be made for working class English speaking saffers versus the more middle class end of that cohort?
Source: the most racist guy I know of the son of such working class English speaking saffers and their expat social circle are all the same.
Biffer wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2024 10:33 am
Or she could be an old school apartheid white South African.
As with Musk it sounds like a trump card to foreigners but any white South African would look at his name and dismiss it as a factor. Someone who's an apartheid holdout doesn't have a name like she has, and if they're a woman as she is they don't marry someone with a name like that.
The vast majority of English speaking whites opposed apartheid, not just individually but as a community and over generations have voted for a succession of liberal opposition parties that promote that view. Musk's father was even a Pretoria councillor for one of those parties. Generally though white English speaking South Africans are apolitical and concerned with making money and business, not many bother with politics, that's the reputation among other South Africans too (being rich). If there's any political views the range is centre to extreme liberal, socialists are rare and proper right wing crazies rarer. In the UK some white English and NI Loyalists have taken part if race riots (Celts notably have not taken part), whatever it is in the identity (English nationalism?) doesn't exist in the English Speaking South African identity (ESSA is racially inclusive, the person just needs to be a primary language English speaker).
Musk has been radicalised on a very large public platform for all to see. It didn't start in 1980s SA, which like a lot of white English speakers he was probably oblivious to politically, it started in the modern West. Something similar seems to have happened to this woman, went crazy during lockdown and ended up fully in the Farage/GB News/TalkTV right wing tarpit.
Is there a distinction to be made for working class English speaking saffers versus the more middle class end of that cohort?
Source: the most racist guy I know of the son of such working class English speaking saffers and their expat social circle are all the same.
It does get quite complicated.
My aunt, born in Scotland but in Southern Africa for 50 years, was an awful racist. I have memories of my dad asking her to leave the house on a couple of occasions when she came back for a visit.
But at the same time she treated her housemaid like family, furnished her home, paid for the kids etc. She also used to drive miles from home to volunteer in a soup kitchen so her friends didn’t know she was doing it.
I was at her house in Mossel Bay for 9/11, which was interesting
Re: Angry White Men
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2024 2:37 pm
by Calculon
"working class" Souties are hardly a thing. When it comes to being openly racist, Whenwes are on another level - aways going on about the "Munts"
Re: Angry White Men
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2024 3:36 pm
by Biffer
Calculon wrote: ↑Sat Aug 10, 2024 2:37 pm
"working class" Souties are hardly a thing. When it comes to being openly racist, Whenwes are on another level - aways going on about the "Munts"
Calculon wrote: ↑Sat Aug 10, 2024 2:37 pm
"working class" Souties are hardly a thing. When it comes to being openly racist, Whenwes are on another level - aways going on about the "Munts"
This makes little sense to me.
Souties is shorthand for south African whites whose mother tongue is English. The vast majority of souties would consider themselves middle class by south. Africa standards. The poorer ones are not really analogous to the British working class. As Ox said they're not particularly racist and as a group didn't support apartheid, no matter what their financial status.
Whenwes, mainly Rhodesians, on the other hand typically use racist language
Blackmac wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2024 6:58 pm
Some pretty hefty sentences, up to 4 years, getting handed out to morons spouting shit on Facebook. I would imagine that Labour Councillor Ricky Jones, who encouraged a large, volatile crowd to slit people's throats, must be absolutely shitting himself.
I hope you've not retweeted it or you'll be joining him
This is the closest I get to a social media presence.
Re: Angry White Men
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2024 4:27 pm
by tabascoboy
So, the Angry White Men have another diversion today...?
Re: Angry White Men
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2024 5:20 pm
by Dinsdale Piranha
tabascoboy wrote: ↑Sat Aug 10, 2024 4:27 pm
So, the Angry White Men have another diversion today...?
Hugo wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2024 11:18 am
I'm not sure what thread this belongs in - could be many I suppose - but another general problem (specific to social media/media) is Piers Morgan.
I honestly despise the bloke with an absolute passion. Whenever there is a big issue (national or international) he throws his weight around opining on stuff in an utterly obnoxious fashion.
It is so lamentable that a tabloid hack with no real expertise of anything he talks about has positioned himself to be some kind of authority on current affairs.
Yeah, he's always poorly informed and trying to express things in a simple tabloid headline way. I think he reckons he's cutting through to the heart of the issue or something but some topics just can't be presented that way, because it leads to what we've seen in the last few days
You are 100% correct, his whole schtick is that hes just one of those straight talking guys "who calls it as it is".
And on that note you seriously can't make this stuff up.... As if on cue Piers argues with multiple Olympic medals winner Michael Johnson about what it means to be a champion. He is the ultimate, ultimate blowhard, poorly informed, poorly researched and lazy but speaks on every subject as of he is an authority.
Hugo wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2024 11:18 am
I'm not sure what thread this belongs in - could be many I suppose - but another general problem (specific to social media/media) is Piers Morgan.
I honestly despise the bloke with an absolute passion. Whenever there is a big issue (national or international) he throws his weight around opining on stuff in an utterly obnoxious fashion.
It is so lamentable that a tabloid hack with no real expertise of anything he talks about has positioned himself to be some kind of authority on current affairs.
Yeah, he's always poorly informed and trying to express things in a simple tabloid headline way. I think he reckons he's cutting through to the heart of the issue or something but some topics just can't be presented that way, because it leads to what we've seen in the last few days
You are 100% correct, his whole schtick is that hes just one of those straight talking guys "who calls it as it is".
And on that note you seriously can't make this stuff up.... As if on cue Piers argues with multiple Olympic medals winner Michael Johnson about what it means to be a champion. He is the ultimate, ultimate blowhard, poorly informed, poorly researched and lazy but speaks on every subject as of he is an authority.
His sole utility is taking out similar beings to himself. He's pretty good at taking them down with a soundbite. Pity they can't annihilate each other in a matter/anti-matter style.
