Mayor Calls for Tougher Measures on Social Media Disinformation
Sadiq Khan has urged government ministers to implement significantly stronger measures against social media companies that disseminate disinformation. This call follows a study revealing a sharp increase in hostile accounts spreading false information about London’s crime rates and social integration.
Addressing the issue he termed the “outrage economy,” the mayor, who has also written directly to social media firms demanding reform, warned that insufficient action could lead to an escalation in domestic terrorism fueled by conspiracy theories found online.
Concerns Raised at Disinformation Summit
Speaking at a disinformation summit held in Cambridge on Thursday evening, Khan emphasized the growing necessity for decisive central government intervention if social media platforms continue to neglect their responsibilities. He also highlighted the apparent limitations of the media regulator in enforcing meaningful change.
Research conducted by an analysis unit within the Greater London Authority revealed a 150% to 200% increase over the past two years in online narratives portraying London as particularly dangerous. Additionally, there was a 350% surge in content focusing on the alleged impact of migration on the city.
“We’re right to expect big tech to do better but we should not rely on it,” Khan 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.”
Expanding Scope of Online Abuse and Misinformation
The Labour mayor has previously condemned Islamophobic and other abusive social media posts, particularly during disputes with former US President Donald Trump. More recently, the volume of content portraying London as, in Khan’s words, “a fallen city overtaken by Islamist immigrants where crime goes unpunished and basic decency has all but disappeared” has increased significantly.
The new research indicates that while some misinformation originates from US sources, other posts are linked to Russian or Chinese state interests. Additionally, AI technology in countries such as Vietnam is being used to spread falsehoods, sometimes by masquerading as legitimate local news outlets.
Khan described this emerging outrage economy as “eating away at the basic bonds of trust that hold our societies together” and stressed the need for direct confrontation of the problem.
“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 coalmine. But I hope we’ll also see it as the place where the fightback began.”
Risks of Unchecked Falsehoods
Khan warned that unchallenged misinformation could escalate into violence and terrorism. He cited the case of , a 63-year-old retiree who became involved in online conspiracies after opposing the expansion of London’s ultra-low emission zone.
Rees was sentenced in January for detonating an enforcement camera with a homemade bomb, an explosion police stated had the potential to cause fatalities.
Balancing Free Speech and Safety
Khan emphasized that the proposed measures do not aim to suppress free speech. Addressing critics who frame the issue as a debate over unrestricted posting rights, he said:
“To anyone who cynically seeks to delay, deflect or deny by turning this crisis into a debate about our unfettered freedom to post, I say this: tell that charity staff being threatened by strangers at their door after they were doxed online, or the parents struggling to reach their children as they’re dragged ever deeper into the darkest corners of the internet,”
“Tell that to the Jewish and Muslim people who tell me they don’t feel safe walking to synagogues and mosques, or the staff in schools and hospitals facing an endless tirade of harassment and abuse.”
