London Launches £7m Global Campaign to Fight Disinformation and Promote Tourism

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced a £7 million international tourism and investment campaign, delivered by his growth agency London & Partners, targeting Europe, the United States and Asia to promote the capital and combat deliberately false narratives circulating on social media. The Mayor made the announcement during a trade mission to Singapore, where a 203-foot digital billboard was unveiled at Suntec Singapore.

New research published alongside the announcement reveals the scale of disinformation targeting social media users in Asia. In some months, more than 15,000 posts have appeared on X in Japanese falsely portraying London as lawless and under Islamic governance. Japanese and Chinese-language accounts have been found mirroring and amplifying extreme right-wing narratives originating in the UK, with verified accounts posing as news outlets to generate engagement for financial gain.

Khan described the problem as "a truly global scourge" and "a money-making industry pushing lies about our capital." The campaign, set to launch in September, will highlight London's heritage, culture and role as a centre for innovation and trade.

London's global standing is well established: Time Out recently named it the world's best city for culture, and the capital received the 2026 World City Prize. Tourism contributes more than £41 billion annually to London's economy and accounts for more than a quarter of all UK tourism employment. London also holds the lowest homicide rate per capita since records began.