London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has slammed social‑media giants for failing to curb a “dark blizzard of disinformation” that inflames fears about knife crime, migration and policing. The Greater London Authority’s City Intelligence Unit exposed a 7 per cent rise in posts about the city, with “London in decline” narratives spiking 200 per cent in the last two years.

Khan pointed to Kremlin‑aligned, Beijing and Trump‑era “Maga” accounts that amplified false claims, including AI‑generated videos depicting a dystopian future for London. He warned that if platforms like X, Facebook and Instagram do not act, the state must step in with a new body empowered to enforce existing rules and protect democratic discourse for investors.

In a formal letter to Meta, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, Khan demanded a concrete plan to identify and disrupt coordinated inauthentic behaviour. Meta replied it continuously disrupts such activity and is reviewing the research, while TikTok and Reddit said they would cooperate. The mayor’s call signals a potential regulatory clampdown on content moderation in 2026.

The findings arrive as London’s homicide rate sits at 1.1 per 100,000, the lowest since 1997, contrasting sharply with New York’s 2.8 and Chicago’s 11.7. Investors watching the city’s safety narrative will note that unchecked disinformation could undermine tourism, real‑estate demand and the broader economic confidence that fuels London’s property and tech sectors for 2026 investors.