A Pakistani court on Monday acquitted a man of cyber terrorism charges after he allegedly spread fake news on social media websites that sparked riots across the UK earlier this month.

Farhan Asif, a 32-year-old freelance web developer, was arrested last week at his home in Lahore, Pakistan, and held for five days of questioning by the country's Federal Investigation Agency.

Asif, according to the federal authorities, allegedly spread false information that blamed a July stabbing on an asylum-seeking immigrant. Three children were murdered in the incident, which was actually carried out by a British-born teenager.

A BBC investigation linked Asif to a website called Channel3Now. The site not only wrongly suggested the alleged killer arrived in the UK by boat last year, but also included a false name for the suspect that led readers to believe he was Muslim. In fact, the assailant comes from a Christian family.

This and similar lies spread online have been cited as motives for a violent mob attack at a mosque near the site of the killings. Soon after, anti-immigrant and anti-Islam riots erupted across the country, resulting in hundreds of arrests.

In court on Monday, Asif reportedly told the judge that he deleted his post within six hours after realizing that it was fake news.

Before ordering his release, the judge reportedly asked Asif if he now realized the importance of being careful before sharing information online.

This is the same question that some digital policy advocates have posed to Elon Musk. Among them, the Chamber of Progress, which earlier this month called on the billionaire to do a better job moderating speech on X - or resign if he is unwilling or incapable of doing so.

"Since the anti-immigrant attack began, you have parroted far-right talking points, minimized the gravity of the harm, mocked the UK's policing efforts in response to these riots, and driven further division," the tech business advocacy group said of Musk in an August 7 letter shared exclusively with The Register. "Your comments that 'civil war is inevitable' run dangerously close to attempted justification for further violence and destruction." ®

https://www.theregister.com//2024/08/27/pakistan_fake_news_uk_riots/