London 'disinformation blizzard'

[Furbo]

Warns Sir Sadiq Khan.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp3l4kwer5ko

[Randy Winkman]

I think it's a fair point though it's not limited to London. It's pretty much everywhere.

Though PH has joined in a bit with the "You cant go to London anymore, you'll get stabbed" thing in recent times.

I do appreciate I will now get 2-3 replies about people being stabbed in London.

[JagLover]

Randy Winkman said:

I think it's a fair point though it's not limited to London. It's pretty much everywhere.

Though PH has joined in a bit with the "You cant go to London anymore, you'll get stabbed" thing in recent times.

I do appreciate I will now get 2-3 replies about people being stabbed in London.

Well it isn't just "being stabbed" but all crime.

My parents live on a pleasant leafy suburban street but the car crime that has become prevalent in London has hit them. My dad has had a car stolen from off street parking from the front of the house and many of the neighbours have clamps on their vehicles to deter theft.

[911Spanker]

JagLover said:

Randy Winkman said:

I think it's a fair point though it's not limited to London. It's pretty much everywhere.

Though PH has joined in a bit with the "You cant go to London anymore, you'll get stabbed" thing in recent times.

I do appreciate I will now get 2-3 replies about people being stabbed in London.

Well it isn't just "being stabbed" but all crime.

My parents live on a pleasant leafy suburban street but the car crime that has become prevalent in London has hit them. My dad has had a car stolen from off street parking from the front of the house and many of the neighbours have clamps on their vehicles to deter theft.

Whereas I have been in London for years and not had an issue.

London is fantastic IMO.

[markh1973]

JagLover said:

Randy Winkman said:

I think it's a fair point though it's not limited to London. It's pretty much everywhere.

Though PH has joined in a bit with the "You cant go to London anymore, you'll get stabbed" thing in recent times.

I do appreciate I will now get 2-3 replies about people being stabbed in London.

Well it isn't just "being stabbed" but all crime.

My parents live on a pleasant leafy suburban street but the car crime that has become prevalent in London has hit them. My dad has had a car stolen from off street parking from the front of the house and many of the neighbours have clamps on their vehicles to deter theft.

But that isn't what Sadiq Khan is talking about. The AI generated videos are showing invented versions of London and that is disinformation.

[menousername]

So they want to regulate social media is that right?

[Randy Winkman]

menousername said:

So they want to regulate social media is that right?

Perhaps just try and address fake stories and AI generated stuff. Is that bad?

[LittleBobbyTables]

A lot of it isn’t helped by the dive in to blame brown people and make it about immigration -in whatever contorted way.

See a lot of that here, one is a reason to justify the other apparently.

[_Rodders_]

I think he's got a fair point.

We had a great family weekend earlier this year. Even stumbled into a protest about Iran and everyone seemed to be having a good time, was almost a party atmosphere.

And I came away with my watch and phone still attached.

[menousername]

Randy Winkman said:

menousername said:

So they want to regulate social media is that right?

Perhaps just try and address fake stories and AI generated stuff. Is that bad?

Somewhere between unnecessary and concerning

[_Rodders_]

Compared to last year and the first thing we saw while exiting the train station in Montreal was a homeless man picking every bin liner out of its receptacle and tipping it into the street, barely glancing at it before moving onto the next one.

[AbbeyNormal]

menousername said:

So they want to regulate social media is that right?

Just trying to emulate that haven of tranquility that is the UAE.

[stuckmojo]

Those nasty far right people talking the most diverse and successful city in the world down!

That can't happen.

Every bit of information about London must come from us. A bit like Jacinda did in New Zealand during COVID.

Oh, wait.

[PurplePenguin]

_Rodders_ said:

Compared to last year and the first thing we saw while exiting the train station in Montreal was a homeless man picking every bin liner out of its receptacle and tipping it into the street, barely glancing at it before moving onto the next one.

Cool story

[loafer123]

I see that X is having a clamp down on bots...I suspect that if this happens on the major platforms, we will see a big change in the tone of social media.

When the Iranian bot farm was bombed there was an enormous reduction in antagonistic posts from supposedly domestic UK posters...go figure.

[Terminator X]

Most things you read online tend to be BS in my experience + a lot of stuff even in the news seems to be designed to be sensational. I avoid it all, blood pressure status low ish.

TX.

[CoolHands]

Sadiq would know. He’s a lying snake.

[southendpier]

The overall crime rate in London as of January 2026 is 83 crimes per 1,000, and the most common crimes reported are violence and sexual offences, with reports coming from roughly every 25 out of 1,000 daytime population.
https://crimerate.co.uk/london#london-historical-c...

nice!

Thefts 4.64 x national ave
Robbery 2.5 x national ave
Vehicle 1.76 x national ave

Public Order up 44% over 3 years
Shoplifting up 42% over 3 years
Criminal Damage and Arson up 19% over the last 3 years
There are no signification decreases in Crime Types

total Crime By Year

London Met Police
2026
899156 901047

2021
738224 739730

2016
59158 59281

I lived in London for 14 years various places in Zone 2 and worked in the City Wouldn't go back, other than occasional visits.

[nikaiyo2]

stuckmojo said:

Those nasty far right people talking the most diverse and successful city in the world down!

That can't happen.

Every bit of information about London must come from us. A bit like Jacinda did in New Zealand during COVID.

Oh, wait.

My niece is a student in London and works in a Cafe/ deli type place and she reckons that in the last 6months it has gone crazy, every day they get things stolen apparently one guy comes in each day, pretty much the same time and takes a fresh juice. The police wont do anything about it. I get its hardly the crime of the century but he does it EVERY day.

[Mastodon2]

A fallen city where crime goes unpunished and basic decency has all but disappeared? Sounds like the London I know.