Thousands filled the streets across the United Kingdom this week in massive rallies against racism and Islamophobia, a show of unity to counter a recent surge in far-right violence.

British police have arrested hundreds of right-wing rioters for carrying out a string of attacks in England and Northern Ireland targeting Muslims and migrants.

While the wave of violence was partly spurred by misinformation about the identity of a suspect in a deadly stabbing spree, academic Faiza Shaheen says mainstream public figures and the media establishment are also to blame for “drip-feeding poison into the ears of the public” about immigrants over many years.

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