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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The United Kingdom is setting aside a bill to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius amid a lack of support from United States President Donald Trump, as Mauritius vows to “spare no effort” to reclaim the archipelago.

Last May, the UK and Mauritius jointly announced a deal that would return full sovereignty of Chagos to Mauritius, which is some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) away from the archipelago.

Britain would then pay to lease Diego Garcia – the largest island and a strategic location in the middle of the Indian Ocean between Asia and Africa, which is home to the military base – on a 99-year lease to preserve US operations there.

But Trump opposed the move, calling it an “act of great stupidity” in January.

“Diego Garcia is a key strategic military asset for both the UK and the US. Ensuring its long-term operational security is and will continue to be our priority – it is the entire reason for the deal,” the UK government spokesperson added in his statement.

Link to Belgian article: https://www.rtl.be/actu/regions/liege/une-cargaison-militaire-interceptee-liege-airport-avant-son-depart-vers-israel/2026-04-10/article/785402

Keir Starmer’s claim that he is only letting Donald Trump use British bases for “defensive” airstrikes on Iran is a “fiction”, a former Royal Air Force officer has told Declassified.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the retired squadron leader said it was “glaringly obvious” that American bomber missions from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire were conducting offensive strikes on Iran.

“Keir Starmer’s insistence that the UK is not involved in the war, and that US aircraft at RAF Fairford are only carrying out defensive missions, is becoming increasingly unsustainable,” the veteran said, describing the policy as “deeply wrong”.