Wayne O’Rourke has been sentenced to three years in prison for posting false information on social media that incited racial hatred during recent unrest in the UK. The 35-year-old, who amassed over 90,000 followers on his X account, spread misinformation regarding the tragic deaths of three young girls in Southport on July 29, as well as praising a car fire in Sunderland.
At Lincoln Crown Court, O’Rourke, from Salix Approach in Lincoln, pleaded guilty to promoting racial hatred between July 28 and August 8. Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight emphasized that O’Rourke was not merely a bystander but an instigator of unrest, stating, “The flames were fanned by keyboard warriors like you.”
During the court proceedings, it was revealed that one of O’Rourke’s posts falsely alleged that the deaths of the three children in Southport were the result of a terrorist attack by a Muslim. Another post urged locals to “get out on the street,” which received 1.7 million views.
Additional posts included inflammatory images, one showing the County Road mosque in Liverpool and another depicting the burning car in Sunderland, captioned “Sunderland, go on lads.” O’Rourke’s online rhetoric also included phrases like “Starmer has basically said it us against them. Hold the line,” and calls for action that read, “numbers are important” and “give them hell lads.”
Accompanying his profile was a photo of a bulldog dressed in a Union Jack jacket. The court learned that O’Rourke received approximately £1,400 monthly for his online activities. His defense attorney, Lucia Harrington, argued that he did not intend to promote such material but became swept up in the media frenzy surrounding the events.
Judge Knight dismissed O’Rourke’s claims that his posts were meant as dark humor, asking pointedly, “Where is the humor, I ask you Mr. O’Rourke?” While he had no previous convictions, he had been cautioned for fraud in 2018.
