Recent riots across the UK have sparked widespread discussion about the role of social media in spreading hatred and disinformation. However, Dr Simon Peplow, a historian and expert in British race relations at the University of Warwick, argues that these events are part of a much longer and deeper history of racism and scapegoating in Britain.

Dr Peplow said “In response to the racist and Islamophobic violence around Britain, a lot of attention has been focused on the role of social media in spreading hatred and disinformation. However, while social media has arguably influenced immediate ‘trigger events’ for violence through the faster spreading of messages, similar events have occurred throughout modern British history via the impact of newspapers and ‘word of mouth,’”

Dr Peplow emphasises that the recent violence occurs within a broader climate of scapegoating and the legitimisation of racist, Islamophobic, and anti-migrant rhetoric. He notes that these attitudes are not confined to easily identifiable ‘far-right’ groups but are also perpetuated by the media and politicians.”

Providing historical context, Dr Peplow pointed to past incidents such as the racist riots in 1919, where people of colour were blamed for postwar societal issues. “Newspapers at the time spread narratives of blame and ‘White Superiority,’” he explained. “For instance, the Liverpool Echo alleged that Black people had settled into ‘distinct foreign colonies’ in the city, which the newspaper described as being ‘partly a check against the pollution of a healthy community by undesirables.’”

Dr Peplow also highlighted the racist riots in Nottingham and Notting Hill in 1958, where far-right groups exacerbated tensions. “Rather than addressing the root of the issues causing discontent, the British State responded to this racist violence by using it as a justification to introduce immigration restrictions in the 1960s, for the apparent sake of maintaining ‘good race relations,’” he noted.

His comments explore how defensive actions by racialised communities in the 1970s, 1980s, and early 2000s were portrayed as ‘un-British.’ Dr Peplow discussed the problematic narratives around ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Muslims and the focus on ‘community cohesion’ that often targeted British Muslims.

“Britain has often downplayed or dismissed histories of its racism, instead forwarding a simplified vision of a uniquely ‘tolerant and welcoming’ nation. However, we can also find many histories of grassroots activism against fascism and racism,” said Dr Peplow. He cited examples such as the 1963 Bristol Bus Boycott, prominent figures like Claudia Jones and the Mangrove Nine, and groups like the Sons of Africa, Anti-Nazi League, and Asian Youth Movements.

Dr Peplow concluded, “While current events again demonstrate how this is not a simple narrative of ‘progress,’ histories of anti-racist solidarity should be remembered as part of a longer historical legacy.”