‘Missing kids’ hoaxes after Manchester bomb

Social-media websites were swamped with false reports of missing children within hours of the suicide bomb attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.

Hoaxers posted Twitter requests for news of supposed loved ones, often including photos of people who weren’t at the concert. It appears they were hoping the messages would be retweeted by people who thought they were helping. Some messages were retweeted over 10,000 times.

Twitter was also used by people to post genuine messages about missing loved ones, highlighting how hard it is for users to tell real news from fake. Once the tweets were dismissed as hoaxes, Twitter users asked Greater Manchester Police to investigate, with one saying: “Sickening people using fake stories to get attention during this sad time”.

Photos purporting to show bodies on the floor of the Manchester Arena foyer were also exposed as fake. Users said they were taken during a special forces training exercise some years ago. Another fake photo allegedly showed Grande backstage with blood on her face.

Facebook was also used by hoaxers to spread panic and misinformation, with one warning people not to go to the Royal Oldham Hospital because a gunman was there.

The profusion of hoaxes is likely to boost calls for Twitter and Facebook to do more to tackle fake news. In March Paul Chichester, director for operations at the new National Cyber Security Centre, said the sites must recognise their “social responsibility”.