A victim of misinformation following Harehills violent disorder welcomes inquiry into social media
Councillor Mothin Ali was subjected to abuse on social media after being a victim of misinformation
Cllr Mothin Ali, a victim of misinformation is welcoming an inquiry into social media, misinformation and harmful algorithms.
The councillor for the Green Party in Gipton and Harehills said: "Someone took some images of me from a video and accused me and then posted that on X... and it really went viral, accusing me of being one of the rioters and some people even accusing me of being the instigator of the riots."
Troubled flared in the area on 18 and 19 July 2024, after social workers called for police assistance in removing children from a local family, which had been instructed by a family court.
Cllr Ali said the consequences of the picture being posted with misinformation: "In social media they call it a pile on, where people just start bombarding you with accusations or threats or racist messages.
"So, that brought on a mental strain, so that can happen and that's really harmful.
The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee heard from Google, TikTok, Meta and X across two panels yesterday (Tuesday 25 February).
The evidence session is part of the committee's inquiry into social media, misinformation and harmful algorithms.
Cllr Ali said he welcomes the inquiry and explained the impact of being a victim of misinformation: "If that was a younger person, I could imagine the harm they felt, the mental anguish they would have felt. I was lucky enough to have a good support network around me, someone without that support network would have really struggled."
Meanwhile, he said the platform was also used by people he didn't know, to call the people out who were spreading the wrong information.
"Equally, just as harmful as that messaging was, some people, used that same platform and used some of the other platforms to actually get the truth across."