Sadiq Khan is pushing hard for a new state-backed disinformation unit to silence online criticism of London. The Mayor claims a “dark blizzard of disinformation” is undermining the city, linking it directly to offline harm, and wants government tools to force Big Tech to act – or else.
In a post on X (replies closed of course), Khan declared: “We can’t ignore the link between online disinformation and offline harm. At the Cambridge Disinformation Summit, I spoke about how the ‘outrage economy’ is eating away at the basic bonds of trust that hold our societies together – and why we need urgent action.”
We can't ignore the link between online disinformation and offline harm.
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) April 10, 2026
At the Cambridge Disinformation Summit, I spoke about how the "outrage economy" is eating away at the basic bonds of trust that hold our societies together – and why we need urgent action. pic.twitter.com/sEHU2GwVQF
He doubled down in remarks to the media, insisting: “We’re right to expect big tech to do better, but we should not rely on it. 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.”
Disinformation about London has become a global industry.
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) April 10, 2026
The new “outrage economy” is growing – and it’s eating away at the bonds that hold our society together.
That's why I'm calling for urgent action from social media companies and government.https://t.co/moPcAqSWdK pic.twitter.com/olXHoAftTe
Khan called for “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.”
He added: “The outrage economy is eating away at the basic bonds of trust that hold our societies together. It isn’t just a challenge for progressives like me. It’s a challenge for anyone who believes in democracy – wherever they are.”
Khan further suggested that “The same people attacking the capital have already started targeting other cities around the world. And, in a few years’ time, I think we’ll look back on London as the canary in the coal mine. But I hope we’ll also see it as the place where the fightback began.”
Civil liberties group Big Brother Watch sounded the alarm on X:
?NEWS: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan wants to CRACKDOWN on social media posts criticising the capital, calling for a state-backed disinformation unit.
— Big Brother Watch (@BigBrotherWatch) April 10, 2026
Disinformation is a real problem – but it's also a term at risk of political exploitation by governments.
We exposed how counter… pic.twitter.com/OtQuZtOqWu
As we recently highlighted, Khan is running a campaign to dismiss the chaotic reality on London’s streets as foreign propaganda or American disinformation:
While Khan obsesses over online narratives, the actual data from his own city tells a different story.
?REMINDER TO EVERYONE: This is Sadiq Khan’s London in 2025?
— Gauci Reports (@GauciReports) December 9, 2025
?The official Metropolitan Police figures since he became Mayor in 2016:
? Knife crime: +27%
? Robbery: +57%
? Theft from the person: +37%
? Shoplifting: +109%
?? Sexual offences: +64%
?? Violence against the… pic.twitter.com/jFg2DQUBjo
Every hour in London a rape is reported, and every half hour or thereabouts knife crime is reported. Yet Sadiq khan claims it is the safest city in the world and everything negative you hear is “disinformation.”
Stop gaslighting Londoners.
— Gauci Reports (@GauciReports) April 10, 2026
The anger is about real crime on your watch – not “disinformation.”
London Crime Stats Under Sadiq:
– Knife crime: 16,147 offences in 2024/25 – highest of your time as Mayor (up from 9,721 in Boris’s last year)
– Knife robberies: Doubled to over… https://t.co/6Wk5G8GazX
Britains capital run by Sadiq Khan:
— The British Patriot (@TheBritLad) April 10, 2026
??Every 4.5 mins a phone is stolen.
??Every 1.8 mins a theft reported.
??Every 1 hour a rape is reported.
??Every 34 mins knife crime is reported
Yet for Sadiq khan, disinformation is the problem.
What’s your message to this vile man? pic.twitter.com/0ZCpWTaOs9
Big Brother Watch’s warning is spot on. When officials label uncomfortable truths about crime, migration and failing multiculturalism as “disinformation,” the real agenda becomes clear: protect the narrative, not the public.
Read our report, 'Ministry of Truth: the secretive government units spying on your speech'??https://t.co/7SNlG7oiB5
— Big Brother Watch (@BigBrotherWatch) April 10, 2026
This is classic surveillance-state creep dressed up as protecting democracy. Instead of fixing the streets, Khan wants to police the tweets. Free speech isn’t the problem – unchecked crime and open-borders policies that imported it are.
The fightback isn’t a new government censorship body. It’s citizens refusing to be gaslit while their city crumbles. Londoners deserve safe streets, not speech police.
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