London Mayor Sounds Alarm on Social Media Disinformation

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has warned that the city is facing a 'dark blizzard of disinformation' on social media, with hostile actors, including foreign states and far-right groups, spreading false narratives about the city.

According to new research commissioned by the Greater London Authority, there has been a sharp rise in online activity portraying London as a 'fallen city' where crime goes unpunished and 'basic decency has all but disappeared'. The report found that between March 2024 and March 2026, online activity describing the capital as a dangerous city in decline increased by between 150 and 200%, while migration-related narratives referencing London surged by more than 350%.

Coordinated Efforts to Spread Disinformation

The research identified coordinated efforts by UK-based extreme right-wing groups, alongside accounts aligned with Russian or Chinese state interests and US-related political movements, to amplify these claims. One network identified in the study, based in Vietnam, used AI-generated imagery and the impersonation of local media outlets to spread emotive content to more than one million followers.

Encrypted messaging apps such as Telegram were also identified as key channels where disinformation can originate before spreading to mainstream platforms. The report's authors noted that the findings were indicative rather than comprehensive, citing limited access to platform data and reduced transparency around algorithms and moderation systems.

Real-World Dangers of Digital Campaigns

The mayor highlighted the real-world dangers of these digital campaigns, pointing to the case of a retiree who blew up a Ulez camera with explosives after spending time in social media groups where conspiracy theories were being spread. Khan warned that 'as extremists erode trust in our city and its institutions, it gets easier and easier for them to twist online anger into offline violence'.

Khan insisted that he was not seeking to silence legitimate criticism, stating 'I haven't come here today to ask anyone to take down content which criticises me', but argued that the 'outrage economy is eating away at the basic bonds of trust that hold our societies together'.

Call for Greater Transparency and Action

In a series of letters sent to the heads of major social media platforms, including TikTok, Meta, Google, and X, the mayor called for greater transparency and an end to 'opaque algorithms designed to maximise engagement at any cost'. He requested that tech companies provide 'vetted independent researchers' with access to their data to allow for better monitoring of coordinated disinformation.

TikTok, Meta, and Telegram responded to the report, with TikTok stating that it had a 'longstanding and collaborative relationship' with City Hall and that it had specialised teams to detect and remove coordinated inauthentic behaviour. Meta said it was 'constantly working to disrupt' coordinated inauthentic behaviour, while Telegram stated that it supports 'peaceful free speech' and that calls to violence were 'forbidden and are removed whenever discovered'.

The mayor also urged the government to take a 'much tougher approach' by creating a new central body to protect democracy and giving regulators like Ofcom the power to 'hit companies where it hurts' if they fail to act.