Organised disinformation has become the new warfare and open liberal democracies are sitting ducks, according to a senior MP. The Labour MP Dame Emily Thornberry said: “From pushing provable lies, to planting false seeds of doubt, disinformation is the weapon of choice of hostile states seeking to destabilise democracies. It seeps into societal cracks, seeking out our vulnerabilities to exploit them. It aims to undermine our sense of identity and cohesion, and even our ability to tell fact from fiction, in order to leave us divided and weakened.โ
She was speaking as chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, on the launch of a report about ‘Disinformation diplomacy: How malign actors are seeking to undermine democracy’. The MPs singled out Russia, China and Iran; and non-state actors such as the mercenary Wagner Group. The MPs described the Foreign Office as ‘under-resourced’ to counter information manipulation.
As for what the dis- or misinformation is about, one example in the report is a drastically rising number of social media posts claiming London is โdangerousโ and โlawlessโ.
A ‘state of war’
Dame Emily said: โRussiaโs hybrid attacks in particular amount to a state of war against the West. The work of the FCDO in Eastern European countries is remarkable, but it is very disappointing to see that the FCDO lacks the resource to do more and meet the ever-increasing need elsewhere. Our report calls for an increase in funding to be drawn from the planned 5pc defence and national security uplift. After all, if Russia is already conducting information warfare against the West, the UK must be ready to defend itself.โ
โOur inquiry found that work on disinformation is too fragmented and disconnected across Government. To bring this work together and take a lead, we are calling for the creation of a National Counter Disinformation Centre, in the same way that there is a National Cyber Security Centre.โ
โWe also found that the Government hasnโt communicated the scale and depth of the threat that disinformation poses to the public. Frankly, we need a bit less caution and bit more candour. Government should, when appropriate, declassify examples of disinformation and provide regular briefings to the media and civil society organisations.โ
โThe truth is our greatest defence against disinformation. Impartial, balanced journalism is an act of defiance in oppressive autocracies. We are very concerned about the BBC World Service. Which at this time, when hostile powers are pumping out lies across the world, is being cut back, not built up. There has never been a time when it has been more needed. While we welcome the Governmentโs announcement that it will increase funding in the short term, the long-term funding of the Service is yet to be agreed, nor its value recognised. In our report we recommend drawing in part from the defence uplift to fund the Service.โ
โOf course, Government cannot do everything, and social media companies also need to do their part. We are calling for algorithms to be made available for public research and for social media companies themselves to produce annual reports on disinformation.โ
โWe also found patterns of international behaviour that were familiar. Such patterns are happening at home albeit on a smaller scale, but we have learnt how quickly they can be expanded at election time, for example. We havenโt seen evidence that the Government would be ready if we are subjected to the type of sustained attack we have seen elsewhere.โ
โAs we head into the local elections, the UK must apply the lessons we learn overseas and be willing to act to protect the truth in this country.โ
Tech
As for tech, the report described Artificial Intelligence (AI) as ‘a dual-edged sword in regard to foreign information manipulation and interference’. MPs heard that large language models (LLMs) are being exploited by malign actors and poisoned with disinformation. While a Defending Democracy Taskforce in UK central Government is chaired by the Home Office Security Minister Dan Jarvis, MPs suggested official response is ‘unnecessarily fragmented’ and ‘lacks a coherent strategy’, leaving the UK vulnerable.
National strategy
Meanwhile a Joint Committee of MPs and peers on the National Security Strategy published a report on the Governmentโs National Security Strategy, as published in June 2025 and which set out a โwhole-of-societyโ approach to security and resilience. The report concluded that ‘it is not evident that this message is getting through to the public’. Committee chair, the Labour MP Matt Western said: “Recent weeks and months have shown our current geopolitical environment to be dangerous and unpredictable. The National Security Strategy sets out a framework for handling a volatile world: the Government must now deliver.โ
For the 100-page report, visit the parliament.uk website.
