Fergus Finlay: We should shut down social media platforms that help to spread hate

Far-right agitators stir up hate on social media such as Twitter/X. Governments should instruct internet service providers to shut them off until there is an independent audit of their algorithms

Purporting to be a response to the murders of three girls in Southport, violence — much of it directed against immigrants, Muslims, and police — erupted across Britain and in Belfast where this Muslim-owned cafe on Botanic Avenue was attacked. Picture: Peter Morrison/PA

What a week. What a week. I’ve never sat in front of my TV before, unable to speak because of the emotions engendered by the Olympic Games.

First it was Celine Dion. I’m not a fan of her music, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as graceful and as courageous as her performance of Edith Piaf’s ‘Hymne à l’amour’ on the balcony of the Eiffel Tower. When you think about what she has been through and how unlikely it was that she could stand, let alone sing, it was both heartbreaking and heart-lifting to hear her voice soar over the city of light. It seemed to set a tone for an Olympics that had the capacity to lift the spirits of a wounded world.