The Pakistan government has arrested a native journalist for playing a key role in UK riots that wreaked havoc in the country for weeks.
The Federal Investigation Agency said Farhan Asif, a freelance journalist, was arrested from Lahore over a fake story that galvanized the UK far-right protests last month.
The riots led to widespread spree of hate and violence against Muslim mosques and residential places, Anadolu Ajansı reported.
What Was The Fake Story?
According to the First Information Report, Farhan published a story, which was fake, about teen girls being stabbed by a Musli immigrant.
While the girls were indeed tragically stabbed, the culprit being a Muslim led to country-wide protests by the far-right.
Local Pakistani newspaper Dawn News reported that although Farhan was not the main source of information, his following did influence the entire process.
Mr. Farhan’s story was later shared by a British woman who is believed to have been involved in Covid-19 disinformation previously.
