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The person who gets in touch says he is called Kevin, and that he is based in Houston, Texas. He declines to share his surname and it is unclear if Kevin is actually who he says he is, but he agrees to answer questions over email.<\/p>\n
Kevin says he is speaking to me from the site\u2019s \u201cmain office\u201d in the US – which fits with both the timings of the social media posts on some of the site’s social media profiles, and the times Kevin replies to my emails.<\/p>\n
He signs off initially as \u201cthe editor-in-chief\u201d before he tells me he is actually the \u201cverification producer\u201d. He refuses to share the name of the owner of the site who he says is worried \u201cnot only about himself but also about everyone working for him\u201d.<\/p>\n
Kevin claims there are \u201cmore than 30\u201d people in the US, UK, Pakistan and India who work for the site, usually recruited from sites for freelancers – including Farhan and James. He says how Farhan in particular was not involved in the false Southport story, which the site has publicly apologised for, and blamed \u201cour UK-based team\u201d.<\/p>\n
In the aftermath of the false claims shared by Channel3Now, it was accused of being linked to the Russian state on the basis of old videos on its YouTube channel in Russian.<\/p>\n
Kevin says the site purchased a former Russian-language YouTube channel which focused on car rallies \u201cmany years ago\u201d and later changed its name.<\/p>\n
There were no videos posted to the account for around six years before it began uploading content related to Pakistan – where Farhan is based and where the site admits to having writers.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust because we purchased a YouTube channel from a Russian seller doesn’t mean we have any affiliations,\u201d Kevin says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are an independent digital news media website covering news from around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is possible to buy and re-purpose a channel that has already been monetised by YouTube. It can be a quick way to build an audience, enabling the account to start making money right away.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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‘As many stories as possible’<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Although I\u2019ve found no evidence to back up these claims of Russian links to Channel3Now, pro-Kremlin Telegram channels did reshare and amplify the site\u2019s false posts. This is a tactic they often use.<\/p>\n
Kevin said the site is a commercial operation and \u201ccovering as many stories as possible\u201d helps it generate income. The majority of its stories are accurate – seemingly drawing from reliable sources about shootings and car accidents in the US. However, the site has shared further false speculation about the Southport attacker and also the person who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
Following the false Southport story and media coverage about Channel3Now, Kevin says its YouTube channel and almost all of its \u201cmultiple Facebook pages\u201d have been suspended, but not its X accounts. A Facebook page exclusively re-sharing content from the site called the Daily Felon also remains live.<\/p>\n
Kevin says that the blame for social media storm relating to the Southport suspect and the subsequent riots cannot be laid squarely on a \u201csmall Twitter account\u201d making \u201ca mistake\u201d.<\/p>\n
To some extent, he is right. Channel3Now\u2019s incorrect story did become a source cited by lots of social media accounts which made the false accusations go viral.<\/p>\n
Several of these were based in the UK and the US, and have a track record of posting disinformation about subjects such as the pandemic, vaccines and climate change. These profiles have been able to amass sizeable followings, and push their content out to more people, following changes Elon Musk made after buying Twitter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/picture><\/span>Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n