Sadiq Khan has warned London is at the centre of a “dark blizzard of disinformation” online as he urged the government to crack down on the spread of false information across social media.
While overall London-related posting activity increased by around seven per cent between March 2024 and March 2026, “London in decline” narratives increased by around 150–200 per cent, and migration-related narratives referencing London increased by more than 350 per cent, data from the Greater London Authority (GLA) showed.
But official figures show many crime rates falling, including for serious violent offences and homicides.
Speaking at a disinformation summit in Cambridge on Thursday evening, the mayor said the government must do more to force social media companies to stop people “profiting from division”.
He warned a failure to act could see more domestic terrorism offences enacted by people who believe conspiracy theories they see online.
“We’re right to expect big tech to do better, but we should not rely on it,” Sir Sadiq said. “If platforms fail to act, the state must have the tools to make them. That’s why I’ll continue lobbying the government publicly and privately to take a much tougher approach.
“We need a new central body with the agility and authority to protect our democracy from disinformation, and deal with the scale and speed of this crisis. And we need more aggressive enforcement of the rules we already have. Because unless regulators like Ofcom have the power to hit companies where it hurts, they’ll keep on getting away with it.”
New data from the GLA shows misleading narratives online about London frequently relate to migration and cultural identity, as well as claims the city is unsafe or in decline, plus antisemitic or homophobic narratives.
The report also found “clear signs of coordinated and inauthentic activity”, including the use of AI-generated content to produce and amplify misleading claims.
It added state actors and extreme right-wing groups from outside the UK appear to be involved, including accounts aligned with Russian or Chinese state interests and US-related political movements. This included a Vietnam-based Facebook network of at least 42 pages, with a combined following of around 1.25 million posting repeated, AI-generated imagery and impersonating local media outlets.
Other networks included a Sri Lanka-based content farm producing monetised AI-generated posts and a Nigeria-based cluster impersonating UK media outlets.
Narratives surrounding phone-snatching, violence against women and girls, and knife crime were seen frequently, alongside lower-volume but “persistent” posts relating to public health, climate, and LGBTQ+ issues.
In his speech, Sir Sadiq said: The outrage economy is eating away at the basic bonds of trust that hold our societies together. It isn’t just a challenge for progressives like me. It’s a challenge for anyone who believes in democracy – wherever they are.
“The same people attacking the capital have already started targeting other cities around the world. And, in a few years’ time, I think we’ll look back on London as the canary in the coal mine. But I hope we’ll also see it as the place where the fightback began.”
A Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology spokesperson said: “Under the Online Safety Act social media platforms are required to remove illegal mis- and disinformation, to help protect our communities from online and offline harms. Ofcom has strong enforcement powers it can use where platforms fail to do this and has our full backing to take action where necessary.”
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