STEEL barricades on the windows and doors. Huge padlocks on every entrance. Graffitied walls, empty cans, and smashed bottles.
On first impressions, the derelict former care home on Denmark Street in Glasgow’s Possilpark does not look fit to house anyone at all, let alone vulnerable people seeking asylum.
Regardless, the site has found itself the target of online disinformation in recent days after a rumour wrongly claimed that it was set to be turned into accommodation for asylum seekers.
There is a planning application for the site to be expanded and brought back into use as a care home, which Glasgow City Council made clear last week in a statement attacking “false information” that “can cause damage to Glasgow's communities”.
But the fact there are no plans to house asylum seekers there did not stop far-right groups from capitalising on local concerns to stoke protests there over the weekend. Video shared online shared more than 100 people outside the building on Saturday, with some holding a banner from the neo-Nazi group Patriotic Alternative.
However, the online rumours have since evolved, with fresh claims saying not that asylum seekers will be housed there, but that some already are.
On Sunday, a video filmed outside the care home showed police vehicles inside the site – and it was alleged that they were there to remove asylum seekers living inside.
Nobody could be seen being taken from the building in the video clip, and locals in the area who saw the police vehicles themselves told The National they had not seen officers take anyone from the site.
Some concerned residents nearby were then taken around the building by police, The National was told, but did not see anyone living there.
However, one woman who was shown inside alleged that this was only because officers had secretly removed the asylum seekers by using police vans to obscure the view from across the fencing before she had been allowed to look around.
Police Scotland were asked for clarification on what their officers were doing on the site on Sunday, but did not say anything through Sunday evening or all of Monday.
Amid the force’s silence, more rumours were allowed to spread among locals in the area, who told The National they are not sure who to believe.
There were signs of people squatting or perhaps using the site to drink or use drugs, which fuelled the speculation.
On Tuesday, after more than 36 hours of silence, Police Scotland confirmed that three people "working on site were found within, all of whom were subsequently arrested in connection with unrelated matters".
They did not say what the arrests were for, or if they were immigration related.
As far-right fuelled disinformation flourishes in Scotland, police should be much more aware of the impact their silence can have.
Update: This story has been updated to reflect Police Scotland's statement, which was issued on Tuesday morning.
