The UK government is establishing a new National Centre for Information Defence to counter disinformation, deepfakes and other information attacks linked to hostile foreign actors.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the initiative during his address to the United Nations General Assembly, warning that hostile states, particularly Russia, were using bots, fake websites, fabricated articles and other methods to influence public opinion and undermine democratic institutions.
The new centre will bring together intelligence agencies, law enforcement bodies and social media companies. Its responsibilities will include detecting, attributing and disrupting foreign information attacks while helping communities improve their ability to identify disinformation.
The government said artificial intelligence was increasing the scale and sophistication of the threat. Burnham also argued that economic hardship and social inequality could make some people more vulnerable to misleading online narratives.
The initiative has prompted debate over the balance between national security and freedom of expression. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has described the proposal as an attack on free speech, while Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the government had no intention of policing domestic political dissent.
Streeting said Britons must remain free to challenge government policies, criticise ministers and support alternative political parties. He stressed that the initiative was aimed at hostile information operations rather than legitimate political disagreement.
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