Fill the Void: How failing local information supply chains fuel asylum housing clashes – and what can be done about it
Trust in local institutions as providers of accessible and reliable information for UK communities is collapsing, just as the government’s devolution agenda is working to transfer power to places around the country.
Fill the Void evidences collapsing trust in, and engagement with, local and national news media, government, and elected representatives as sources of local information in three UK communities that dealt with social cohesion challenges in 2025 over the housing of asylum seekers in local hotels: Dudley Borough, Epping Forest, and Greater Manchester. Our research analysed findings from 15 focus groups engaging 131 citizens, 26 stakeholder interviews, and 500k+ social media posts.
Information voids created by a lack of institutional information provision and cut through were filled with speculation and rumour, misinformation and hate speech, the rise of the local influencer as a modern community spokesperson, and the emergent power of Facebook group admins as gatekeepers of local information.
This report outlines the challenges faced by local communities and local institutional actors during times of local division and polarisation. It sets an ambition agenda for action, calling for a focus on rebuilding local communications capacity and trust as a priority action in the government’s agenda.
This ‘comparative report’, Fill the Void, is published together with a catalogue of dedicated reports specific to:
This is the latest report in Demos Digital’s Epistemic Security programme that focuses on securing the UK’s information supply chains and building our democratic resilience to adverse influences. For further reading and Demos research on the integrity of the UK’s information environments in moments of challenge, see: