https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/21/world/europe/britain-riots-speech.htmlA 53-year-old woman from northwest England was jailed for 15 months after posting on Facebook that a mosque should be blown up “with the adults inside.” A 45-year-old man was sentenced to 20 months for goading his online followers to torch a hotel that houses refugees. A 55-year-old woman was questioned by the police for a viral post that wrongly identified the suspect in a deadly stabbing knife attack at a children’s dance class.
These and other people are accused of being “keyboard warriors,” in the words of one British judge, exploiting social media to stir up the anti-immigrant riots that exploded after the suspect was arrested in the fatal stabbings of three young girls at the dance class, in the town of Southport. Their cases have now become examples in a politically charged debate over the limits of free speech in Britain.
With the courts handing down harsh sentences to hundreds who took part in the violent unrest, and calls for the government to strengthen regulation of online content, some argue that the authorities risk going too far. Not only are judges locking up far-right rioters, these critics say, but they are also opening the door to a broader crackdown on speech.
