Individual taken into custody in Pakistan, suspected of playing part in propagating false information connected to the unrest in the UK.
In a communication with CNN, the FIA stated that the user of an account labeled X as @Channel3Nownews uploaded photos and discussed a video concerning an occurrence that took place in Southport, England. The user @Channel3Nownews subsequently published an article on the website www.channel3now.com with the accompanying text that a 17-year-old was taken into custody in relation to a stabbing incident in Southport, England.
As per the FIA's declaration, the "article contained a fallacious claim about the arrest of a Muslim refugee by police in connection with a stabbing incident at a dance party in Southport on July 29, 2024."
The FIA verified that the individual wasn't charged.
The authorities in Lahore recognized the individual apprehended by the FIA as Farhan Asif, who was remanded in custody for interrogation on Monday.
CNN was informed by the authorities that Asif admitted to crafting the narrative by borrowing information from a UK-based social media platform, failing to verify its authenticity.
It's uncertain if Asif has appointed legal representation.
A police officer, who briefed CNN, divulged that they discovered during the interrogation that the site Asif operated was primarily used to disseminate news stories from the United States, Britain, and Australia, attracting online audience traffic and generating income through Google Ads.
Asif claimed to pocket approximately a thousand dollars monthly through this process, according to the officer.
Following a statement from the British police following the unrest, Asif stated he had deleted the article and issued an immediate apology.
After interrogating Asif, the police officer told CNN that Asif's case had been passed on to the FIA for further investigation.
The United Kingdom experienced its most significant unrest in over a decade, following the eruption of far-right, anti-immigrant violence across the nation. A series of protests initiated late last month, triggered by a misinformation campaign revolving around an anti-immigrant sentiment, ignited fury following a stabbing incident that resulted in the deaths of three children in Southport, northern England.
The inaccurate claim about the incident in Southport spread beyond England, reaching audiences in other parts of the world, including Asia. The website operated by Farhan Asif attracted a global audience due to its news stories from the US, Britain, and Australia.
