What have I seen in Liverpool this week? Kindness in person and conspiracies online

The Guardian

4 days ago

'This doesn't sound good at all.' The message flashed up on a group chat I am in with other journalists in Liverpool and Merseyside. My blood cooled instantly upon reading it. I have heard those words before and I know what they mean. They mean something has happened. Something big and something bad. It wasn't long before we all started to realise quite how big and quite how bad.
After a day of joyous celebration that turned Liverpool into a sea of brilliant red, hundreds of fans were heading back into the city when they looked up to see an ambulance moving through a temporarily pedestrianised route on its way to help a stricken individual. The fans, anxious to assist, moved to the side, when a Ford Galaxy suddenly emerged from behind it and in a few terrible moments, turned elation and harmony into chaos and pain.
At a time when social media is such an unreliable and often malicious source of information, we had to try to verify exactly what had happened in Water Street and the truly grim clips that emerged made us all fear the absolute worst.
I am still amazed and relieved that no lives were lost. The news that those who were hospitalised are said to be stable and recovering well is something everyone in this city and beyond will continue to treasure.
And we are also grateful for the many stories of kindness, generosity and that well-known scouse solidarity that have offered rays of sunshine to combat the dark cloud that Monday evening's events have left hanging over this unique and vibrant place. On Thursday, Paul Doyle, a 53-year-old man from Liverpool, was charged with multiple offences in connection with the attack and will make his first court appearance on Friday.
Those qualities of solidarity so in evidence this week will continue to be needed. I'm talking about the dozens of Liverpool pubs that kept their doors open late into the night as people left stranded and separated from loved ones tried to figure out their plans amid the chaos. I'm talking about the cabbies and car owners who flooded social media with offers of free lifts.
I'm talking about Kerrie and John Davies from Wallasey, who – along with staff from their travel company – ran continual free shuttle buses to help more than 400 people get home from Liverpool city centre. And I'm talking about Ellis Matthews, whose dad was hit by the car as it ploughed along Water Street and who chased after it with many others, bravely putting their own lives at risk as they fought to stop the driver from injuring anyone else.
There are many, many more examples that show how the people of this city and this region did what they always do: step up when people need them the most. A glance at social media on that frantic night showed the best of humanity – as offers of help poured in – but of course it showed the very worst as well. It wasn't long before a grim parade of bad faith actors were springing gleefully on to the trauma of what those in Water Street had faced, desperate to stir up hatred, division and chaos in the name of whatever malevolent cause they currently subscribe to.
Our region knows just how dangerous such actions can be. We saw what happened after Southport. We know the pivotal role that poisonous misinformation played in bringing that hell to our streets. Merseyside police officers were among the first to arrive at those unspeakable scenes in Southport last summer, and some of the same officers found themselves being attacked by bricks from an angry, misinformed mob the next night.
It is clear that the force was desperate to avoid such turmoil after Monday's incident in Water Street, and the decision to quickly release the fact that the only suspect was a white British man from Liverpool and that the incident was not being treated as terrorism was entirely understandable and – because of that painful context – the correct one.
But it won't be enough for some. There are many operating in the hellscape of social media today who will never be content with any explanation that doesn't fit their narrative. There are still plenty who are continuing to plaster all kinds of bizarre and unfounded conspiracies across social media in an increasingly desperate bid for validation and engagement – without a second thought for those who are continuing to recover.
As journalists all we can do to counter this rising torrent of online bile is to report the facts as and when we get them – and only when we know them to be true. We have to hope that the quiet majority will turn to trusted sources at times of uncertainty and trauma.
One fact we absolutely know to be true is that Liverpool is a resilient city. This is a place with a spirit of mind, character and solidarity forged through the collective painful experiences of Hillsborough, of Thatcher, of austerity. It is a place that has picked itself up off the canvas time and time again – and has done so with extra resolve, with even more fortitude, with another big helping of togetherness.
That powerful concoction will be badly needed as Liverpool comes to terms with a day of celebration that turned into a night of devastation. But if any city can come together and recover again, we know it is the beautiful one that lies on the banks of the River Mersey.
The fee for this article will be donated to the fundraiser set up for the victims of Monday's incident in Liverpool
Liam Thorp is political editor at the Liverpool Echo