The Government’s disinformation squad is secretly building an AI programme to scour social media for “concerning” posts – so it can step in and “take action”. The Telegraphhas the story.
Records show the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) recently awarded a £2.3 million contract to Faculty AI to build monitoring software which can search for “foreign interference”, detect deepfakes and “analyse social media narratives”.
The platform is part of the Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU) which was set up in 2019 and sparked widespread criticism for amassing files on journalists, academics and MPs who challenged the Government’s narrative during the pandemic.
The unit, which has since been rebranded the National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT), has links to the intelligence agencies, which has allowed it to avoid public scrutiny.
DSIT said the new AI tool, called the Counter Disinformation Data Platform (CDDP), is looking solely for posts “which pose a threat to national security and public safety risk”.
The current focus of beta testing is the influence of foreign states during elections.
However, heavily redacted documents obtained by Big Brother Watch through Freedom of Information (FoI) requests show that the Government is reserving the right to also use the platform for other issues.
An executive summary for the project states: “While the CDDP has a current national security focus the tool has the ability to be pivoted to focus on any priority area.” …
Since 2021, contracts show the Government has spent more than £5.3 million on developing the CDDP and other disinformation projects including “detecting coronavirus disinformation” and “analysing climate related mis/disinformation on social media”. …
A recent report on the CDDP – disclosed via FoI – shows the platform would be used by analysts to “find the most concerning posts” so they can be reported to “policymakers and ops teams on what may require action”. …
Lord Young of the Free Speech Union said: “To scale up the British arm of the censorship-industrial complex at a time when it’s being dismantled on the other side of the Atlantic is politically unwise, to put it mildly.
“It’s particularly tin-eared given that the social media platforms that will be targeted by this new robo-censor are all American-owned.
“To the Trump-Vance administration this will look like another attempt to ‘kill Musk’s Twitter’, the self-professed agenda of a pro-censorship lobby group founded by Keir Starmer’s chief of staff.”
You’ll need to set up an account to comment if you don’t already have one. We ask for a minimum donation of £5 if you'd like to make a comment or post in our Forums.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.