Khan Warns of Disinformation Targeting London

London Mayor Sadiq Khan warned on Thursday of a "dark blizzard of disinformation" targeting the city online, urging the government to establish a new central body to combat false narratives on social media platforms. Speaking at the Cambridge Disinformation Summit, Khan linked the spread of misleading information to real-world harm and called for stronger regulatory powers to hold tech companies accountable.

Data from the Greater London Authority's City Intelligence Unit, based on analysis of platforms including X, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and YouTube, revealed a sharp rise in negative narratives about London between March 2024 and March 2026. Overall posting activity related to the city increased by about 7 percent, but claims portraying London as in decline surged by 150 to 200 percent, while migration-related content referencing the capital jumped by more than 350 percent. The research identified coordinated efforts involving state actors aligned with Russian and Chinese interests, extreme right-wing groups, and U.S.-based political movements. Networks based in Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Nigeria were cited for using AI-generated imagery, impersonating local media, and...