Fake image shared as Yvette Cooper article on multiculturalism in The Guardian

What is the claim?

On July 18, 2024, the Harehills suburb of Leeds in the United Kingdom witnessed unrest following a police response to a domestic disturbance that involved children being taken away by government agency workers. This incident escalated into a night of rioting with assaults on police officers, vehicle arson, and widespread destruction.

Following this, a screenshot of a purported opinion piece in The Guardian began circulating on social media, claiming that British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper wrote about the riots and the Harehills area. "Harehills is a shining light on the success of multiculturalism which we aim to replicate throughout the country," the headline of the purported piece read. A few screenshots also purported to show that this opinion piece was published on July 23, 2024. 

"Wonder when she's moving in then. Vile person," one user who shared the post wrote. One post on X (formerly Twitter) that shared the photo has garnered over 301,500 views so far. Archive links of such posts are here, here, and here.  

Screenshots of viral social media posts. (Source: Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, we found that the screenshot is fabricated, and Cooper wrote no such piece for The Guardian.

What are the facts?

We searched The Guardian's website and social media accounts (archived here and here) and found no such article. Further, the opinion section on its website (archived here) listed no such article published on July 23, 2024. 

Screenshot of The Guardian's Opinion section from July 23. (Source: The Guardian/Screenshot)

Further, the viral screenshot shows two subsections under the Opinion section — Gender and Race option. However, these are not on the original website, which has another subsection called "The Guardian view." 

Comparison of the viral image to The Guardian website. (Source: X/The Guardian/Modified by Logically Facts)

We also found that Cooper's last opinion piece in The Guardian dates back to June 22, 2024, headlined, "The Tories betrayed the Windrush victims – we will stand by them." Her author profile on the site also showed no sign of a piece about the Leeds riots. Cooper also shared her Windrush article on X (archived here.) However, we found no such X posts about any piece in July. No such post showed up in the archives of her account either.

The Guardian also confirmed to Logically Facts, "The screenshot shared has never been an article or headline published by the Guardian."

Logically Facts has previously fact-checked such fabricated screenshots using the same template seen here, masquerading as pieces published by The Guardian. They can be read here, here, here, and here. 

Cooper's statement about the Harehills riots

On July 19, 2024, Cooper, who became Home Secretary after Labour won the 2024 general election, expressed her distress on X (archived here). She said, "I am appalled at the shocking scenes and attacks on police vehicles & public transport in Leeds tonight. Disorder of this nature has no place in our society. My thanks go to West Yorkshire police for their response. I am being kept regularly updated." 

On July 19, 2024, the Home Office also posted a statement (archived here) by Cooper on the disorder in Leeds. She said, "Those responsible must face the full force of the law and West Yorkshire Police have my support in pursuing the perpetrators and taking the strongest possible action against them."

Comments by Yvette Cooper on the Harehills incident. (Source: X/Screenshot)

Logically Facts also found that in the aftermath of the unrest, misinformation proliferated on social media, erroneously attributing the riots to the Muslim community. A social media analysis showed that accounts linked to Indonesia and India fueled and contributed to spreading misinformation about the events in Leeds. You can read our piece here. 

The verdict

The viral screenshot masquerading as a screenshot of an opinion piece in The Guardian is fake.