London Mayor Launches £7 Million Campaign to Counter Online Disinformation

Sir Sadiq Khan announced a £7 million campaign to showcase London and counter online disinformation that he said is harming the capital’s reputation. The campaign will launch in September and will be delivered by London & Partners, targeting audiences across Europe, the United States, and Asia.

The Greater London Authority published a report in March that found a nearly 200 per cent increase over the past two years in social media posts portraying London as dangerous or in decline.

A separate GLA report found that social media users in Asia are being targeted by disinformation about London, with more than 88,000 Japanese-language posts relating to crime, safety, migration and asylum policies. In some months, more than 15,000 posts have been posted on X in Japanese with claims that London is lawless and under the influence of Islamic governance.

One account used AI imagery to falsely claim that millions of people attended the Unite The Kingdom rally organised by Tommy Robinson.

The GLA had previously identified a Vietnam-based Facebook network of at least 42 pages using AI-generated images to produce emotive content about London and its Mayor. Sir Sadiq said: “We are facing a relentless and unprecedented attack of lies and hatred from those wanting to damage our capital’s standing and our hugely important tourism industry.

Disinformation about London has become a truly global scourge.

The Metropolitan Police said in January that the homicide rate in London dropped to its lowest in 11 years in 2025. The force has some of the highest rates per thousand people of personal robbery and theft from the person in England and Wales, and phone thefts are a significant problem. Between 2017 and February 27 2024, a total of 587,498 phones were stolen in London, excluding the City.