A £7m campaign has been launched by the Mayor of London to help combat ‘harmful disinformation against the capital’.

The international tourism and investment campaign was unveiled yesterday by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who has confirmed that the move seeks to encourage recognition of London as the ‘best city in the world’.

Administered by the Mayor’s growth agency London & Partners (L&P), the campaign comes in response to online disinformation circulating about the capital, which the mayor has said involves ‘organised extremist groups and state actors attempting to create division and damage confidence in London’.

The promotional campaign will be rolled out in Europe, the US, and Asia, and aims to increase the number of visitors to London, as well as supporting its hospitality, culture, and tourism industries.

It has been announced in Singapore via a 203ft digital billboard, with the mayor’s online statement revealing that social media users in Asia are being targeted by disinformation about London, according to new research.

The statement says that ‘Japanese and Chinese-language accounts [are] mirroring and amplifying narratives originating from the UK's extreme right-wing’, in addition to AI-generated content being used to make false claims.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said that London is home to the ‘best attractions and cultural institutions’, and highlighted the ‘extraordinary creativity, diversity and global influence’ that the capital is characterised by, which renders it the ‘perfect place to visit and invest in’.

He added: ‘However, 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 that London.’