The use of the messaging app Telegram in the UK has risen dramatically after a mass stabbing in Southport that led to a night of unrest. This was revealed by data from Similarweb, an online analytics company. On July 29, the day of the attack, the number of active users increased to 3.1 million, compared with an average of about 2.7 million since the beginning of 2024. The next day, as violence in Southport escalated and targeted a local mosque, the number of active users reached 3.7 million.

The unrest, which injured at least 50 police officers, was partially fueled by the far-right English Defence League (EDL), according to Merseyside Police. Telegram, known for its hands-off approach to content moderation, came under renewed pressure to take action against extremist groups on its platform. The app became one of the main tools to mobilize rioters and incite unrest.

The UN-supported counterterrorism team "Tech Against Terrorism" issued an "urgent warning" on Wednesday after identifying a Telegram network with 15,000 members that had shared lists of protest targets, including immigration facilities. This group has since been taken down.

The British media regulator Ofcom urged platforms to proactively tackle content that incites racist hatred or promotes violence. "New safety regulations under the Online Safety Act will come into effect in a few months, but you can act now - there is no reason to wait to make your sites and apps safer for users," explained Ofcom.

Telegram stated that its moderators are actively monitoring the situation and removing channels and posts that incite violence. "Moderators use a combination of proactive monitoring of public areas of the platform, advanced AI tools, and user reports to ensure that content violating Telegram's policies is removed," the company said.

Despite these measures, the platform remains a preferred channel for extremists due to its "hands-off" approach, raising the question of how effective the current measures to combat extremist content really are.