Officers from Cheshire Police have arrested a woman in relation to social media post containing inaccurate information about the identity of the attacker in the Southport murders.
The 55-year-old woman from near Chester, was arrested earlier today, Thursday 8 August, on suspicion of publishing written material to stir up racial hatred (S19 of the Public Order Act 1986) and false communications (S179 Online Safety Act 2023).
She is currently being held in police custody where she is assisting officers with their enquiries.
OTS News understands that the woman is Bernadette Spofforth, who runs the Twitter account @artemisfornow, according to a number of national media outlets.
Allegations made online suggest that Ms Spofforth’s account was the first use on X of the incorrect name “Ali Al-Shakati” attributed to the suspect of the Hart Street attacks. OTS News has not been able to verify this claim.
Ms Spofforth’s X handle was used on Sunday to suggest she had seen the false name originally posted from another social media account, but today told the Daily Mail she had first heard the name from “someone in Southport.”
The Daily Mirror this afternoon said she had been “unmasked” as the first person to publish the incorrect identity.
Mrs Spofforth told MailOnline: ‘I’m mortified that I’m being accused of this. I did not make it up. I first received this information from somebody in Southport.’
She added: ‘My post had nothing to do with the violence we’ve seen across the country. But I acknowledge that it may have been the source for the information used by a Russian news website.’
The BBC has contested the the Channel3Now website, which also erroneously named “Ali Al-Shakati” is Russian.
Chief Superintendent Alison Ross said: “We have all seen the violent disorder that has taken place across the UK over the past week, much of which has been fuelled by malicious and inaccurate communications online.
“It’s a stark reminder of the dangers of posting information on social media platforms without checking the accuracy. It also acts as a warning that we are all accountable for our actions, whether that be online or in person.”
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