How the far right rationalises its acts of violent disorder

More must be done to combat the algorithmic reward to moral outrage on social media platforms, writes Claire Hamilton

Vehicles set on fire by protesters on Lendrick St in Belfast, as disorder flared in response to a stabbing attack in the city. Riotous actions by such groups are often framed by violent protesters as ‘protecting communities’.

AS COMMUNITIES in the North recover from the recent unrest, many people listening to this news will be pondering the paradox of protesters engaged in arson, criminal damage, and various acts of violent disorder in the name of public safety.

While it is important to say that not all of the Belfast protestors engaged in acts of violence, many of those protesting at the stabbing of a man by a Sudanese asylum seeker on the streets of Belfast claim that their violent acts are their way of ‘protecting’ communities.