In 2024, Eleanor Williams, then 22, from the English town of Barrow-in-Furness, claimed she had been raped and trafficked by an Asian grooming gang. A judge then called her allegations “complete fiction” and accused Williams of having no “remorse”; she was then tried and found guilty of “perverting the course of justice” and is now serving an eight-and-a-half-year sentence. Rape and human trafficking are among the most serious crimes a justice system can confront. If high-profile cases like Sean “Diddy” Combs’ are any indication, even well-resourced systems struggle to investigate and prosecute them effectively. While many people prefer cases with no ambiguity — where the accused is a complete stranger — real life is often more complicated. Victims may know or even care about their abusers. That complexity is precisely why, when a court determines someone has fabricated such allegations outright, the response can be severe. The COVID lockdowns were difficult for nearly everyone, but Williams’ claims suggested she had endured something far worse. According to The Guardian, she posted disturbing images on Facebook in May 2020 that quickly went viral across the UK. The photos showed Williams with visible injuries, which she claimed were the result of being beaten by Pakistani business owners who were trying to force her into “sex parties.” At the time, immigration was already a highly charged issue in the UK, and the climate easily slipped into racial profiling. Against that backdrop, Williams’ story did not remain confined to a small town for long. What may have begun as a local lie quickly escaped its original context. The story gathered momentum rapidly. Williams soon became the center of a movement, with more than 100,000 people joining a Facebook group demanding justice for her. Rallies were organized, accusations of a police cover-up spread, and merchandise — including items featuring a purple elephant — was sold in her name. What began as a single post had spiraled far beyond her control. Cumbria Police were left with little choice but to conduct a thorough investigation. Officers ultimately recorded 151 crimes connected to Williams’ Facebook posts. Hate crimes in Barrow reportedly tripled that summer, alongside incidents involving malicious harassment, criminal damage, and public-order offenses. During her case, Williams maintained her innocence, but even she wrote the judge acknowledging how her post affected her small town, which she claims to have “devastated” it. Williams wrote, “I understand that it’s your job to believe the jury’s verdict and that’s OK. I know I have made some mistakes. I’m sorry. I know it’s no excuse, but I was young and confused. I’m not saying I’m guilty, but I know I have done wrong on some of this, and I’m sorry. I’m devastated at the trouble that has been caused in Barrow. If I knew what consequences would have come from that status, I never would have posted it.” Williams was found to have been creating fake accounts to message herself harassment messages. Two psychiatrists were able to conclude that Williams’ lies were at least partially inspired by “complex PTSD” from an abusive childhood. At one point Williams even gave the police 60 names of women who had also been abused by the Asian grooming gang. When the police followed up, not a single woman corroborated Williams’ story.