Foreign disinformation now poses a direct threat to the UK’s democratic stability, according to a new report from the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, which warns the government must give greater priority to fighting disinformation abroad.

Analysing the disinformation threats posed by hostile states such as Russia, Iran, and China, as well as non-state actors like the Wagner Group and Daesh, the report found that the efforts of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) are being “dwarfed by the global scale of the problem”.

Warning that threat actors are “increasingly weaponising information” to sow division and erode confidence in democratic institutions, MPs said that FIMI is now a systemic risk, with Russia’s behaviour in particular being that of a state at war against the West.

For example, the report notes that since at least February 2022, a malign online network of Russian-backed organisations has targeted Europe, the UK and the US to undermine support for Ukraine, using techniques like spoofing news websites and artificially amplifying pro-Russia social media accounts.

However, such efforts have become far more sophisticated in the AI era, with MPs arguing that the technology offers malicious actors far greater opportunities to create novel content at speed, and increase their reach and impact. 

The report also notes MPs’ concerns around social media firms’ use of AI in content moderation and lack of “algorithmic transparency”, highlighting gaps in the Online Safety Act, which means neither these platforms nor Ofcom is responsible for acting on misinformation or disinformation, except where it overlaps with illegal content.

Ultimately, the Committee found that, despite the Foreign Office’s progress in exposing some information manipulation, particularly that from Russia, these issues have left the UK’s information space wide open to malign influence.

Calling disinformation the new “weapon of choice of hostile states” seeking to destabilise the UK, MPs called for the creation of a National Counter Disinformation Centre similar to Sweden’s Psychological Defence Agency that could counter foreign interference directed against UK interests. 

The report also urges the government to ramp up funding for both the FCDO’s Hybrid Threats Directorate and the BBC World Service, with cutbacks risking the UK losing influence in key regions such as Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Indo-Pacific.

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“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,” said Dame Emily Thornberry MP, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

“Our inquiry found that work on disinformation is too fragmented and disconnected across Government. We also found that the Government hasn’t communicated the scale and depth of the threat that disinformation poses to the public. 

“Of 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.”