Select Committee · Foreign Affairs Committee

Disinformation diplomacy: How malign actors are seeking to undermine democracy

Status: Open Opened: 15 Jan 2025 33 recommendations 22 conclusions 1 report

Misinformation and disinformation campaigns are increasingly weaponised by hostile state and non-state actors and this inquiry will seek to understand which actors are primarily responsible, and which channels and technologies are being used. It will seek to map motivations, sources and locations of the most pressing disinformation threats to democracy, and to understand the impact … Show more

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
4th Report - Disinformation diplomacy: How malign actors ar… HC 703 27 Mar 2026 55 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

3 items
50 Recommendation 4th Report - Disinformation diplomacy: … Rejected

By design, malign actors conduct foreign interference in a covert and obfuscating manner, including on...

By design, malign actors conduct foreign interference in a covert and obfuscating manner, including on social media platforms. We are concerned that the National Security Act 2023 foreign interference offence, which is critical in combatting malign activity online, is limited due to the need to establish that it is a … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government disagrees, stating the National Security Act 2023 is carefully designed and needs time to be robustly tested. They note a live case may clarify its operation and will review legislation, working with Ofcom on platform duties under the Online Safety Act.
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
51 Recommendation 4th Report - Disinformation diplomacy: … Rejected

The Government should conduct an urgent review of the National Security Act 2023 Foreign Interference...

The Government should conduct an urgent review of the National Security Act 2023 Foreign Interference Offence, a priority offence under the Online Safety Act 2023, to ensure it is fit for purpose given the difficulties in meeting the foreign power condition. (Recommendation, Paragraph 231) Read more

Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with conducting an urgent review of the National Security Act 2023 Foreign Interference Offence, stating the Act is new and has not been robustly tested, with a live case expected to clarify its operation.
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
53 Recommendation 4th Report - Disinformation diplomacy: … Rejected

The Government should amend the Online Safety Act to oblige social media companies to provide...

The Government should amend the Online Safety Act to oblige social media companies to provide transparency of user location. This should include publicly available information about 1) the region an account was created; 2) the region the account is based; and 3) whether the connection to the platform was via … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government explicitly disagrees with amending the Online Safety Act, citing legitimate reasons for VPN use and confidence that the current Act effectively addresses online harms, including those associated with transnational repression. It will continue to monitor the Act's effectiveness.
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Oral evidence sessions

7 sessions
Date Witnesses
9 Mar 2026 Ali Law · TikTok, David Agranovich · Meta, Wifredo Fernández · X Corp. View ↗
13 Jan 2026 Ana Revenco · Moldovan Centre for Strategic Communication and Countering Disinformation, Ciaran Martin CB · National Cyber Security Centre, Vijay Rangarajan CMG · Electoral Commission View ↗
6 Jan 2026 Jonny Hall CMG OBE · Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Stephen Doughty MP · Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office View ↗
18 Nov 2025 Alexandre Brasil · Brazilian Embassy in London, Jon Bateman · Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Nina Jankowicz · American Sunlight Project, Nishant Lalwani · International Fund for Public Interest Media, Roberta Braga · Digital Democracy Institute of the Americas View ↗
16 Sep 2025 Dr Antonio Giustozzi · Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), Dr Dani Madrid-Morales · The University of Sheffield, Grace Theodoulou · The Council on Geostrategy, James Kynge · Chatham House, Mr Andrew Yeh · China Strategic Risks Institute View ↗
1 Apr 2025 Salome Zourabichvili View ↗
11 Feb 2025 Dr Jon Roozenbeek · King's College London, Professor Martin Innes · Cardiff University, Professor Vera Tolz-Zilitinkevic · University of Manchester View ↗

Who gave evidence

22 witnesses
WitnessOrganisationSessions
Alexandre Brasil · Deputy Head of Mission Brazilian Embassy in London 1
Ali Law · Director of Public Policy for Northern Europe TikTok 1
Ana Revenco · Director Moldovan Centre for Strategic Communication and Countering Disinformation 1
Ciaran Martin CB · Founding Chief Executive National Cyber Security Centre 1
David Agranovich · Director of Global Threat Disruption Meta 1
Dr Antonio Giustozzi · Senior Research Fellow (Terrorism and Conflict) Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) 1
Dr Dani Madrid-Morales · Lecturer in Journalism and Global Communication The University of Sheffield 1
Dr Jon Roozenbeek · Lecturer in Psychology and Security King's College London 1
Grace Theodoulou · Policy Fellow (China Observatory) The Council on Geostrategy 1
James Kynge · Senior Research Fellow for China and the World Chatham House 1
Jon Bateman · Senior Fellow and Co-Director, Technology and Int… Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 1
Jonny Hall CMG OBE · Director, Hybrid Directorate Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office 1
Mr Andrew Yeh · Executive Director China Strategic Risks Institute 1
Nina Jankowicz · CEO American Sunlight Project 1
Nishant Lalwani · CEO International Fund for Public Interest Media 1
Professor Martin Innes · Director of the Security, Crime and Intelligence … Cardiff University 1
Professor Vera Tolz-Zilitinkevic · Sir William Mather Professor of Russian Studies University of Manchester 1
Roberta Braga · Founder and Executive Director Digital Democracy Institute of the Americas 1
Salome Zourabichvili 1
Stephen Doughty MP · Minister for Europe, North America and Overseas T… Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office 1
Vijay Rangarajan CMG · Chief Executive Electoral Commission 1
Wifredo Fernández · Head of Americas, Global Government Affairs X Corp. 1

Correspondence

11 letters
DateDirectionTitle
25 Feb 2026 Correspondence with Ofcom relating to disinformation, dated 17 February and 03 …
3 Feb 2026 Correspondence with the Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs at Tik…
3 Feb 2026 Correspondence with the Government Affairs Department at X relating to the disi…
3 Feb 2026 Correspondence from the Director of UK Public Policy at Meta relating to disinf…
28 Jan 2026 Correspondence with the Minister for AI and Online Safety, DSIT, relating to di…
28 Jan 2026 Correspondence with the Minister for Building Safety, Fire and Democracy, MHCLG…
28 Jan 2026 Correspondence with the Minister for Security, Home Office, and Minister of Sta…
20 Jan 2026 Correspondence from Minister Doughty following up on the oral evidence session …
14 Jan 2026 From cttee Letter to the Director of Public Policy (UK) at Meta, relating to the disinform…
14 Jan 2026 From cttee Letter to the Head of Government Affairs (UK and Ireland) at X, relating to the…
14 Jan 2026 From cttee Letter to the Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs at TikTok, relat…