Channel3Now

Last updated

Channel3Now
Type of site
 News aggregator; fake news website
Headquarters Lahore, Pakistan
Launched2023;1 year ago (2023)
Current statusOffline

Channel3Now (also stylised as Channel3 NOW) was a website based in Pakistan which aggregated crime news while presenting itself as an American-style TV channel. [1] [2] Launched in 2023, [3] the website was shut down in August 2024 after sharing fake news which fuelled riots in the United Kingdom. [1] On August 20, 2024, a person linked to the website was arrested in Pakistan on charges of cyberterrorism; [4] the case was later dropped.

Contents

History

Channel3Now was registered as a website with a domain server located in Ireland on 15 June 2023. [5] According to Voice of America, the earliest archived versions of the Channel3Now site date back to September 2023. [6] An OSINT investigation by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue indicated that an earlier version of the website was hosted at an address in Pakistan. [7] [5]

The website was previously known as Fox3 Now, Fox5 Now and Fox7 Now, leading to a legal dispute with the unrelated Fox Media LLC. [6] In August 2023, an arbitration ruling ordered the website to transfer those domains to Fox Media LLC. [6]

In July 2024, following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, Channel3Now posted a video on its Rumble account falsely claiming that the perpetrator had been identified as a Chinese man. It also posted baseless claims on X/Twitter about the criminal history of Thomas Matthew Crooks, a white man who was later identified as the suspect, who was later confirmed to have no criminal history. [5]

Riots, arrest and shutdown

On 29 July 2024, Channel3Now posted a false article claiming that the 17-year-old charged in the Southport stabbing was a Muslim asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat a year earlier. It also claimed he was under surveillance by MI6. [5] [2] The article was widely quoted in viral posts on social media.

On 31 July 2024, the website issued an apology, blaming its "misleading information" on the riots on a now-dismissed team of employees. [8] [9] Its YouTube channel and associated Facebook pages were suspended. [10]

On 14 August 2024, an investigation by ITV News at Ten identified a person from Lahore, Pakistan as working for Channel3Now. The individual denied being responsible for the article, claimed he was merely a freelancer, and said three or four people were fired for publishing the false information. Channel3Now's website was shut down later that day. [1]

On 20 August 2024, the same person was arrested by Pakistani police for spreading false information. [11] The case was dropped six days later after police said they were unable to find evidence that the accused was the originator of the fake news article. [12]

Speculation on Russian ties

In the aftermath of the riots, British media speculated that Channel3Now might be linked to Russian disinformation efforts, [10] with a former head of MI6 endorsing the theory in an interview with The Telegraph . [3] However, a BBC News investigation on 8 August 2024 found no evidence to back up the claim. [2]

One source of this theory had been the presence of Russian-language content in the history of its YouTube channel. According to Channel3Now, it had purchased a former Russian-language YouTube channel and changed its name, initially posting video content related to Pakistan. [2]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Website accused of fuelling riots shut down after ITV News investigation". ITV News . 14 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Spring, Marianna (8 August 2024). "The real story of the news website accused of fuelling riots". BBC News. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  3. 1 2 Wilmot, Claire (2 August 2024). "Did Russian disinformation fuel the Southport protests?". The Bureau of Investigative Journalism . Archived from the original on 7 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  4. ↑ "Pakistan police arrest man over Southport attack disinformation". BBC News. 21 August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Kivi, Emmi (6 August 2024). "How dubious website Channel3NOW fueled misinformation about Southport suspect in the U.K." Logically Facts . Archived from the original on 14 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 Kupfer, Matthew (9 August 2024). "How a network of falsehoods helped inflame Britain's anti-immigrant riots". VOA. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  7. ↑ "From rumours to riots: How online misinformation fuelled violence in the aftermath of the Southport attack". Institute for Strategic Dialogue. 31 July 2024. Archived from the original on 2 September 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  8. ↑ "Fact Check: Southport stabbing suspect was born in the UK, say police". Reuters. 31 July 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  9. ↑ "Sincere Apology and Correction Regarding Southport Stabbing Incident". Channel3 NOW. 31 July 2024. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  10. 1 2 Shirreff, Lauren (3 August 2024). "The obscure Russian-linked 'news' outlet fuelling violence on Britain's streets". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 5 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  11. ↑ Farmer, Ben; Gillani, Waqar (20 August 2024). "Man arrested in Pakistan for 'spreading fake news about Southport knifeman'". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  12. ↑ "Pakistan drops Southport attack disinformation case". BBC News. 26 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.

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