Mayor warns of London 'disinformation blizzard'

Sir Sadiq Khan claims London is being targeted with disinformation portraying it as a city "in decline".

Sir Sadiq Khan has accused social media giants of tarnishing London’s reputation by allowing a 'dark blizzard of disinformation' to spread on their platforms, particularly concerning crime and racial segregation.

Sadiq Khan has warned that London is facing a 'dark blizzard of disinformation' online, urging the government to tackle the spread of false information on social media.

Sir Sadiq Khan has warned London is facing a 'dark blizzard of disinformation' online, accusing social media companies of allowing organised networks to profit from a 'division dividend'.

Sir Sadiq Khan claims London is being targeted with disinformation portraying it as a city 'in decline'.

Poisonous narratives about ‘London in decline’ have increased by 150-200 per cent in two years, according to City Hall research.

London's mayor Sadiq Khan has warned of the dangers of online disinformation and called for tougher action against social media platforms, after a rise in accounts painting the city as unsafe or in decline, multiple UK media outlets reported on Thursday (Apr 9). Khan said the city is facing a 'dark blizzard of disinformation', while speaking at a disinformation summit in Cambridge, where he cited a recent study by the Greater London Authority (GLA) showing a surge in online falsehoods being posted about London, including crime rates, racial integration, and policing and protest activity.

Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has issued a stark warning that London is the 'canary in the coalmine' for a global wave of digital deception, accusing social media giants of profiting from a 'division dividend'.

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.

The London mayor has called for the government to be tougher on tech firms. Sir Sadiq Khan has warned London is facing a 'dark blizzard of disinformation' online, accusing social media companies of allowing organised networks to profit from a 'division dividend'. Speaking on Thursday, the mayor cited new City Hall research suggesting hostile actors, including foreign states and far-right groups, are portraying the capital as a city in decline. He said disinformation had become an industry, driven by an 'outrage economy' that allows people to profit from division. BBC News contacted major social media platforms for a response. TikTok and Meta said they remove coordinated inauthentic behaviour, while Telegram said it removes calls to violence when identified.

Sadiq Khan has warned that London is facing a 'dark blizzard of disinformation' online, urging the government to tackle the spread of false information on social media. Data from the Greater London Authority (GLA) shows a significant increase in misleading narratives about London, particularly 'London in decline' (150-200%) and migration-related content (over 350%) between March 2024 and March 2026, despite official figures showing falling crime rates. Research indicates that state actors and extreme right-wing groups, including those aligned with Russian or Chinese interests and US-related political movements, are behind much of this coordinated and inauthentic activity, often using AI-generated content. Misleading narratives frequently target migration, cultural identity, and the city's safety, and include antisemitic or homophobic content, alongside posts on phone-snatching, violence against women, and knife crime. The Mayor called for a tougher government approach, including a new central body to combat disinformation and stronger enforcement powers for regulators like Ofcom, to prevent social media companies from profiting from division.