Labour chair warns online disinformation is undermining UK politics

Emily Thornberry, the Labour chair of the foreign affairs select committee, warned that UK politics is being undermined by online disinformation campaigns, citing Iranian bot farms and biased algorithms that portray London as “an overwhelmingly dangerous” city. Thornberry said online disinformation about the UK was being promoted by Donald Trump and other US and UK politicians and that Britain was “constantly suffering from disinformation campaigns from both state and non-state actors”.

The committee has written to X, Meta and TikTok calling on them to give evidence on the threat posed by foreign disinformation targeting the UK. She accused Reform UK of repeating false claims that were then amplified, and said biased algorithms promoted “strife and far-right messages” while Reform politicians were “raking in tens of thousands of pounds from X” and rewarding sites that sowed anger.

The article notes comments by Reform figures calling London “no longer safe” and in a “crime wave”, and cites analysis by Dr Mark J Hill of King’s College London showing posts claiming London is dangerous rose from 874 in 2008 to 258,444 in 2024, with evidence of new accounts using AI-generated profile pictures posting solely about crime.

Thornberry said lies that start in bot farms can become statements of fact from high-profile politicians.

Key Topics

Politics, Emily Thornberry, Online Disinformation, Reform Uk, X, Tiktok