Good morning. Ten years after the murder of MP Jo Cox by a rightwing extremist before the Brexit referendum, her sister Kim Leadbeater, now an MP herself, issued a clear and urgent call. In an interview on the Today in Focus podcast, she said political hatred in Britain is worse now than at the time of her sister's killing, but insisted that those sowing division are in the minority. They are very loud, but the rest of us have a duty to drown them out and tell the good stories of this country.
But what if one of those loud voices belongs to Elon Musk, the world's richest man, who owns one of the largest social media platforms, reinstated Britain's foremost far-right agitator, and amplifies a highly networked transnational far-right movement to his 240 million followers? The start of the week was dominated by debate about keeping children safe around social media. Today, we discuss another online harm that is fomenting offline violence and contributing to a feeling that British streets are hostile, particularly for people of colour.
Five Big Stories
- UK News: A Russian warship fired warning shots within a few hundred metres of a British pleasure yacht sailing across the Channel amid heightened tensions between London and Moscow.
- UK Politics: The Lib Dems will urge Andy Burnham to end Labour's torpor and timidity towards the EU, calling for the UK to rejoin the single market.
- Middle East: Iran's top diplomat said a peace deal with the US would require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon, as concern grows that Israel could undermine diplomatic efforts to end the Middle East war.
- Media: A BBC presenter praised for his appeal to young male audiences has a history of making abusive and misogynistic remarks about women, whom he has called slags, sluts, psychos, and bitches.
- US News: Joe Biden's decision to seek a second term was a terrible mistake that cost Democrats the presidency and may have permanently damaged his legacy, Hillary Clinton declared.
In Depth: Planning Is Being Done Quite Openly and Explicitly
The racist disorder on the streets of Belfast, Glasgow, Southampton, and elsewhere followed a now familiar pattern, says political correspondent Ben Quinn. These can be described as trigger events, and they are transnational. The far right take a tragedy, attach it to an existing narrative about immigration, usually disregarding the specific facts, and call for offline protest. In Belfast, this resulted in ethnic minority families being burnt out of their homes. We also saw it in the race riots that followed the Southport killings in summer 2024, fuelled by online misinformation.
In just two years, the mechanics have changed significantly, with far-right organising happening in plainer sight than ever. After Southport, activists gathered and planned in private on Telegram, then X was used to amplify those plans. Facebook was used for astroturfing initiatives to get local communities involved. After the sentencing of Henry Novak's killer, planning is being done quite openly and explicitly on X, with discussions taking place there. This was amplified by Musk himself, who shared details of planned demonstrations across Britain and Northern Ireland, seized on by rightwing politicians elsewhere in Europe.
Musk and others seize on events in Europe regularly, though they don't spark the same unrest. An event shared repeatedly is the mass stabbing at a rightwing demonstration in Mannheim, Germany, where a police officer died and five others were injured by an Afghan national. It's impossible to underestimate Musk's impact on what X users see. Guardian analysis found he has posted almost daily about alleged threats to the white race. There are countless examples of his influence on UK political activity, such as endorsing Rupert Lowe, who called for millions of deportations after the Belfast stabbing.
Ben also points to AI-generated images, videos, and songs designed to inflame local anger, such as memes after police released bodycam footage of Nowak's arrest, and generalised fakery of migrant gangs assaulting white women. TikTok is also emerging as a platform to watch. When images or footage from attacks are shared there, it marks a crossover into a place where large numbers of people who are not necessarily politically engaged see it.
The Piggyback Effect
The Belfast riots could have been worse had a figure like Tommy Robinson attended in person rather than encouraging from the sidelines. Ben notes that the far right often piggyback on authentic local events, like protests against the Bell Hotel in Epping after an asylum seeker sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a woman. Those protests grew bigger because of buy-in from local people, Reform councillors, and extreme far-right characters.
Normalisation of Hate Speech
This highly networked online activity has consequences for language. At protests, Ben has witnessed how language and slogans jump from X to the real world. A phrase like re-migration, which advocates for mass expulsion of non-white residents, was beyond the pale a few years ago but is now used routinely by Tommy Robinson and may make its way into mainstream conservative discourse. On X, hate speech is becoming normalised. British Future accused X of giving racists impunity after the platform refused to bar posts using the N-word and P-word.
Deplatforming Division
After the racist riots in Belfast, Keir Starmer vowed to crack down on platforms fuelling division. Ministers plan to amend the Online Safety Act to require social media firms to act faster to remove inflammatory content when offline violence erupts, but this won't take effect until mid-July at the earliest. The government is leaving official reprimand of X to Ofcom. Dr Avaes Mohammad of British Future argues there is merit in continuing to report offensive posts and informing Ofcom when they're not taken down. As citizens, we are all capable of gathering data.
Media consultant Pat Younge called on Starmer to regulate social media platforms as broadcasters. He said Starmer needs to grow a pair, and the public will be with him, because this isn't free speech but an abuse of power. He added that trade unions and civic society need to take a stand, as institutions are being hollowed out.
What Else We've Been Reading
- A long read by Tobias Jones tells a fascinating tale involving funerals, arrests, divorces, football ultras, a lottery winner, and the Red Brigades.
- Jessica Murray meets three stubborn northern working mums who took on developers and helped push through the biggest overhaul of the leasehold system.
- Zoe Williams discovers a secret scheme to buy tax-free plonk while visiting France.
World Cup 2026
- On the Pitch: France beat Senegal 3-1 with a record-breaking double for Kylian Mbappe. Argentina beat Algeria 3-0 as Lionel Messi's hat-trick ties him with Miroslav Klose as the World Cup's all-time leading scorer. Erling Haaland scored twice against Iraq, while Uruguay drew 1-1 with Saudi Arabia.
- Off the Pitch: Tunisia confirmed Herve Renard as new manager after sacking Sabri Lamouchi. Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa defended his unconventional official portrait. Football fans are being paid 37,000 pounds to watch every World Cup match from a glass box in Times Square.
Today's Fixtures
- Portugal v DR Congo, 6pm BST on BBC
- England v Croatia, 9pm BST on ITV
- Ghana v Panama, 12am BST on ITV
- Uzbekistan v Colombia, 3am BST on BBC
The Front Pages
The Guardian leads with Russian warship opens fire in the Channel to warn off British yacht. The Telegraph runs Russian warship fires shots in Channel, the Times says Russian warship fires at yacht in the Channel, and the i Paper has Retired UK couple reveal scary clash in Channel with Russian warship. The Express says Putin's warship opens fire, the Mail has Putin opens fire in the Channel, and the Sun's take is Vlad fires on Brit OAPs in Channel. Elsewhere, the FT leads with SpaceX races past Amazon as fifth most valuable group, the Mirror has It's not too late for Labour, and Metro says Here we owe! ahead of England's World Cup match against Croatia.
Today in Focus
Can Trump be convinced to back Ukraine? Donald Trump has urged Russia to make a deal with Ukraine as G7 leaders meet. European leaders hope to capture Trump's attention to speak about Ukraine, with his focus more on the US-Israeli war against Iran.
The Upside
Children in the Netherlands are some of the healthiest and happiest in the world, possibly because of a century-old walking tradition called Avondvierdaagse, a four-day evening walk where children, parents, and teachers embark on a 5-10km excursion. Half a million people take part every year in 700 locations. The walk helps children connect with their community and build resilience.
Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday.
And finally, the Guardian's puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
