This summer saw some of the worst violent disorder in the UK for more than a decade.
After the horrific killing of three young girls in Southport, social media was flooded with misinformation, inciting hate-filled riots in a number of towns and cities, where property was damaged, police were attacked and hotels housing asylum seekers and refugees were set on fire.
In the wake of these awful events, the government vowed to clamp down on anyone who was involved in the events or had been seen to be inciting violence in relation to them. That has included sentences of up to 38 months for posting comments online.
It was a stark reminder that actions taken on the internet have consequences in the real world - and that is something that should be reinforced to our pupils. This message goes far beyond this summer’s unrest: schools up and down the country will be very familiar with pupils or parents complaining about inappropriate behaviour or bullying online.
It is easy behind a keyboard or a phone for young people to forget the effects of the things they say online. Now is the perfect opportunity to remind them.
One of the most important messages to get across is that actions online do have consequences. Some young people seem to think that because something was said in a WhatsApp group or Discord server, it’s private. But that is not the case.
Posts can be screenshotted, saved, passed on and shared with an unlimited number of people. Once something is out in the digital world, they’ve lost control of it. And depending on what they have said, they could be held criminally responsible for their actions.
Misinformation is also a huge issue - and was a key catalyst in this summer’s unrest. Posts purposely created to disseminate inaccurate information built up millions of impressions on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
Our pupils need to be reminded - or taught - how to digest information online in an intelligent way.
A helpful way to approach this is through the SIFT method, which comprises a four-step process for spotting fake news or misinformation on social media:
S is for stop
Social media relies on us making snapshot decisions. Scroll quickly, like the post, share and move on. We need to take the time to digest the content we are consuming. We need to teach our young people to stop, reflect and consider.
I is for investigate the source
Where has this information come from? A friend? From the media? If a post has been created by an individual, do they have any expertise in the area? If it’s from a media source, is it a legitimate and respectable outlet?
F is for find better coverage
If you find you still have doubts about the credibility of the information, dig a little further. Has it been published elsewhere, is it available via the main news outlets or fact-checking services?
T is for trace the claim to its original context
Even if the claim has been picked up by a reputable news outlet, they can sometimes fall short, too. Where have they picked it up from? Is it the full post, or has it been taken out of context?
Social media can be a volatile place and you never know which posts will be shared and how far they will go. Pupils need to be incredibly careful with their conduct online and think about the nature of what they are putting out into the online world.
The defence of “it was just banter” will not have saved any of those who have been jailed since the riots in August.
Thomas Michael is a safeguarding lead
The government’s Educate Against Hate site has advice and trusted resources to help safeguard students from radicalisation, build resilience to all types of extremism and to promote shared values.
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