cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/50389287
The way that vast amounts of fake news about London is posted online is been revealed in new research from City Hall.
“Poisonous” narratives about “London in decline” have increased by between 150-200 per cent in the last two years, while those making negative claims about migrants in the capital have increased by more than 350 per cent.
A report, from the Greater London Authority’s City Intelligence unit (opens pdf), said there were “clear signs of coordinated and inauthentic activity” that included “high volume, repetitive posting and the use of AI-generated content to produce and amplify misleading, emotive or unverified claims”.
London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, in a speech on Thursday evening at King’s College, said the capital was facing a “dark blizzard of disinformation” as he called on social media companies and the Government to do more.
The City Hall research (opens pdf) said the fake content was being created or shared by extreme right-wing groups in the UK, as well as accounts aligned with Russian or Chinese state interests and US-related political movements.
It analysed posts between March 2024 and March 2026 on mainstream platforms - such as X, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit and YouTube - and fringe platforms such as Telegram, VK and Weibo.
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According to the City Hall research, extreme-Right wing (ERW) and UK ERW groups, Russian-aligned or “Pro-Kremlin” groups, Beijing-aligned groups and MAGA (Make America Great Again)-aligned groups were “assessed as active in promoting or amplifying misleading content related to London”.
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Among the key findings:
- London is increasingly the target of online narratives portraying the city as unsafe or in decline. Topics such as knife crime, violence against women and girls, migration and policing are frequently incorporated into this framing.
- Online activity relating to these narratives has increased over the past two years.
- For example, analysis of X API data using keyword-based Boolean searches between March 2024 and March 2026 suggests that: o overall London-related posting activity increased by around 7%, while o ‘London in decline’ narratives increased by around 150–200%, and o migration-related narratives referencing London increased by over 350%.
- There are clear signs of coordinated and inauthentic activity. These include high-volume, repetitive posting and the use of AI-generated content to produce and amplify misleading, emotive or unverified claims.
- A range of platforms and actors appear to be involved, both within the UK and internationally. This includes extreme right-wing groups in the UK, as well as accounts aligned with Russian or Chinese state interests and US-related political movements.
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