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Sadiq Khan demands stronger action on social media 'outrage economy'
Sadiq Khan has called on ministers to take significantly stronger action against social media companies that spread disinformation after a study showed a surge in hostile accounts posting falsehoods about London’s crime rates and integration.In an intervention on what he called “the outrage economy”, the London mayor, who has also written to social media firms demanding change, said a lack of action could prompt more domestic terrorism by people who believe conspiracy theories they find online.Speaking at a disinformation summit in Cambridge on Thursday evening, Khan said robust central government action seemed increasingly necessary if social media companies continued to neglect the issue, and the media regulator Ofcom seemed unable to enforce change.Research compiled by an analysis unit within the Greater London Authority has shown an increase of between 150% and 200% in online narratives describing London as particularly dangerous over the past two years, and a 350% rise in content focusing on the supposed 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.”The Labour mayor has long been a target for Islamophobic and other abusive social media posts, particularly when he has sparred with Donald Trump. More recently, this has expanded into masses of content describing London as, in Khan’s words in the speech, “a fallen city overtaken by Islamist immigrants where crime goes unpunished and basic decency has all but disappeared”.According to the new research, while some of the misinformation comes from US sources, other posts are connected to Russian or Chinese state interests, with AI technology in places such Vietnam spreading falsehoods, in some cases by pretending to be legitimate local news sources.Khan said this new outrage economy was “eating away at the basic bonds of trust that hold our societies together” and had to be tackled head-on.He said: “The same people attackin...
London is nothing like the dystopia depicted by online propagandists
Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, said that the unrest was symptomatic of "societal breakdown". Sadiq Khan, London's mayor, condemned the episode and pledged to apply the "full force of the law" to punish the perpetrators. He has also committed £30m for late-night youth clubs - one in each borough of the capital.
M&S Director blasts London mayor Sadiq Khan for being 'soft on crime'
April 6, 2026 - Marks & Spencer's retail director has launched a blistering attack on London Mayor Sadiq Khan, accusing him of being "soft on crime" as the retailer grapples with a surge in brazen thefts, violence against staff, and organised disorder on the capital's high streets.
The Guardian view on London and antisocial behaviour: a real problem ...
Sadiq Khan, London's mayor, condemned the episode and pledged to apply the " full force of the law " to punish the perpetrators.
