In July 2024, the Southport riots shocked the UK with their speed and intensity, revealing deep social fractures and highlighting the powerful role of misinformation in fuelling violence.
A year on, Demos has carried out new research, in partnership with the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, which investigates how Community Notes – a community-driven moderation tool used by social media platforms – performed during this crisis.
This policy briefing outlines key findings and sets out recommendations, co-developed with Full Fact, for the government, Ofcom, and social media platforms, aimed at strengthening the performance of content moderation systems during information emergencies.
Read the research report: Researching the riots: An evaluation of the efficacy of Community Notes during the 2024 Southport riots.
This policy briefing is a contribution to Demos’ Epistemic Security programme. This programme aims to secure healthy and robust information supply chains within the UK and build resilience to adverse influence on our democratic processes. In the context of democratic backsliding and rising extreme populism, we are making the case this should be a central mission of this government.