Sadiq Khan says hundreds of thousands spent on anti-Ulez Twitter manipulation
The Guardian Sadiq Khan is expected to claim that hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on an anti-Ulez online manipulation campaign on Twitter, citing research conducted after Labours unexpected Uxbridge byelection defeat.
The London mayor, who will speak at a conference in New York on Tuesday, said he feared that disinformation and manipulation campaigns were spreading apace but it was not always clear who was behind them.
According to remarks released before his speech, Khan will tell social media companies: You do not need to wait to be led. You wield incredible power. Its long overdue you meet your responsibilities and bear down on the attempts to distort truth.
The mayor said there was evidence that hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on the anti-Ulez online manipulation campaign on Twitter alone but we have no idea who was behind the campaign.
Research conducted by the social media analysts Valent in July concluded there was evidence of an extensive online campaign targeted to undermine support for the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) before the Uxbridge byelection.
