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Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 22 September, the Prime Minister announced a new National Centre for Information Defence to ‘detect, attribute and disrupt’ hostile state information attacks.

• Read the report on social media, misinformation and harmful algorithms

The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee published a report in July 2025 on social media and misinformation in the wake of the Southport riots.

The Chair of the Science and Technology Committee, Chi Onwurah MP, recently responded:

“I welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement of a single body to counter state disinformation threats, something my committee recommended in our report, Social media, misinformation and harmful algorithms. The amplification of false and harmful content does untold damage across our society.

“However, our committee also warned that the Ofcom was ill-equipped to tackle misinformation from domestic as well as foreign sources. Our warning stands. Today’s announcement will not tackle domestic dis- and misinformation as seen in the recent riots in Belfast. So long as misinformation remains unchecked there will always be routes for disinformation.

“We urge the Government to revisit the other recommendations in our report, including measures to tackle the algorithmic amplification of legal but harmful content.

Further information

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