London Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced a £7 million global promotional campaign to tackle online “lies” about London that are damaging the capital’s reputation as a world tourism destination. The Mayor stated that the city has faced a “relentless and unprecedented attack of lies and hatred” on social media, calling online disinformation a “global scourge.”
Campaign Details
The campaign, delivered by London & Partners, will launch in September and target audiences across Europe, the United States and Asia. It aims to promote London by celebrating its “rich heritage, world-class experiences, culture, creativity and role as a centre for innovation and trade.”
Rise in Negative Social Media Posts
A report published by the Greater London Authority (GLA) earlier this year found a nearly 200% increase over the past two years in social media posts portraying London as dangerous or in decline. The report highlighted that social media users in Asia are being targeted by disinformation about London, with some months seeing more than 15,000 posts on X in Japanese claiming the capital is lawless and under Islamic governance.
Speaking from Singapore at the World Cities Summit, Sir Sadiq said: “We are facing a relentless and unprecedented attack of lies and hatred from those wanting to damage our capital’s standing and our hugely important tourism industry. Disinformation about London has become a truly global scourge. It’s a money-making industry pushing lies about our capital and preying on people’s fears around the world, so we must fight back on a global scale. That’s why we’re creating this major new campaign to challenge these false narratives and demonstrate once again why there’s no better place in the world than London.”
Crime Statistics and Criticism
The Metropolitan Police reported in January that the homicide rate in London dropped to its lowest in 11 years in 2025. However, the force has some of the highest rates per thousand people of personal robbery and theft from the person in England and Wales, with phone thefts being a “significant” problem. Figures released under Freedom of Information legislation show that between 2017 and February 27, 2024, a total of 587,498 phones were stolen in London (excluding the City), of which only 13,998 were recovered, leaving 573,500 unrecovered.
Former US President Donald Trump has previously accused Sir Sadiq of doing a “terrible job,” adding that “crime in London is through the roof.” Susan Hall, leader of the City Hall Conservatives, said Sir Sadiq “should spend more time trying to fix things as opposed to saying ‘la la la la la’, I’m not listening, everything’s fine’.” Reform UK’s candidate for Mayor of London, Laila Cunningham, said: “If the Mayor of London wants to encourage more tourism, he should deal with the crime he has allowed to spiral out of control instead of suggesting that victims of crime are liars.”
