This morning, there was a false report of a stabbing circulating in Wigan.
This morning, several nurseries in Wigan had to go into lockdown due to a fake report of a stabbing that spread on social media.
An untrue rumor about a supposed stabbing on Enfield Street in the Pemberton area circulated earlier today (Friday). Various nurseries in the vicinity issued notifications to parents to inform them about the alleged event.
One nursey said it had gone into 'full lockdown' due to the 'alarming report'. A message to parents said: "There have been posts on social media this morning regarding an incident on Enfield Street.
"As a result of the alarming reports we have made the decision to put the nursery into a full lockdown. All our children are safe and being well cared for by our fabulous staff."
However, it was discovered that the incident was actually a collision on Ormskirk Road. Emergency services were alerted and arrived at the location at approximately 7am.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed the incident was a two car crash, and was damage only, with no injuries reported.
Due to an iPhone detecting a crash and sending an alert to emergency services, a heightened emergency response was dispatched to the scene.
After receiving a significant amount of feedback, a fake news started spreading on social media claiming that the police were responding to a stabbing incident and that a criminal was on the run. However, GMP verified that the reported stabbing was untrue.
Misinformation spread online this week regarding the suspect in the mass stabbings in Southport resulted in riots across the country, including on Luke's Road in Southport. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy have both highlighted the dangers of false information. When Ms Cooper visited Southport the day after the mass stabbing, she urged the public to avoid 'unhelpful' speculation and added social media companies 'need to take some responsibility'. Follow Manchester Today on Facebook, and Instagram. Send your story ideas to Newsdesk@ManchesterToday.org.uk
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