Warning Donald Trump’s anti-censorship drive is fuelling misinformation disaster in UK | EUROtoday

The UK is dealing with a disaster within the conflict towards misinformation emboldened by Donald Trump’s scrapping of protections within the title of free speech, it has been warned.

Fact-checking charity Full Fact mentioned the shift in US politics was having a “chaotic impact” on the data atmosphere, with political shocks from Washington additionally presenting a direct problem to Europe.

With the UK now dealing with an unprecedented quantity of misinformation shared on-line, the charity is urgently calling on the Labour authorities to withstand strain from the US, and do extra to guard the general public.

On taking to workplace for a second time period, Mr Trump signed an government order geared toward “restoring freedom of speech and ending censorship”, with the president taking purpose at fact-checking on social media platforms.

In a transfer Full Fact suspect to be an try and “curry political favour”, Meta deserted its use of unbiased reality checkers on Facebook and Instagram within the US, changing them with a X-style “community notes”. There are actually fears it will likely be rolled out globally.

Then in February, US vice-president JD Vance delivered an explosive speech on the Munich Security Conference, accusing EU leaders of utilizing “ugly Soviet-era words like misinformation” to cover “entrenched interest”, additional heightening considerations, the charity mentioned.

And final month, the US National Science Foundation ended grants to researchers finding out misinformation.

In its annual report for 2025, Full Fact mentioned: “The beginning of president Trump’s second term has continued to have a chaotic impact on the information environment, and the dust is unlikely to settle soon.

“The early embrace of free speech absolutism and anti-censorship rhetoric has focused even greater attention on anti-trust hearings as leading tech executives rapidly try to embrace a new reality.

“There has also been a direct challenge to Europe. Vance’s remarks, dismissing concerns about misinformation as “ugly Soviet-era words,” and asserting that if democracy could be undermined by a number of hundred thousand {dollars} of international digital promoting, it wasn’t very robust to start with, revealed a sure contempt for outdated allies.

“But his words also effectively recalibrated the acceptable terminology for platforms and suggested the responsibility for addressing coordinated information interference rests solely with governments, rather than with the platforms themselves.”

The charity mentioned fact-checking on media platforms was essential to defending customers from false or deceptive info, and referred to as on Meta to reverse its choice within the US. It additionally referred to as on the Labour authorities and regulator Ofcom to do extra to carry the platforms to account.

In highlighting the risks, the authors famous final summer season’s race riots, when a false identification of the stabbing suspect within the killing of three ladies at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport was shared.

“The riots following the Southport stabbings were a stark illustration of how rapidly misinformation can spread and escalate when left unchecked by regulation that is unfit for purpose, and by limited platform oversight,” mentioned the report.

Full Fact mentioned tech firms ought to have acted with extra urgency and mentioned the general public unrest confirmed up the restrictions of the Online Safety Act.

The laws outlaws the intentional sending of false info that causes hurt. But in apply, the charity mentioned, it was troublesome to show intent to trigger hurt and prior data the data despatched was false.

The report highlighted the case of Bernadette Spofforth, who confronted no additional courtroom motion as a result of inadequate proof after allegedly sharing a false title of the Southport suspect.

Full Fact additionally raised concern over billionaire Elon Musk’s use of social media. It mentioned the Tesla CEO “became almost obsessively active” in commenting on UK politics earlier this 12 months, “often amplifying conspiracy theories and far-right propaganda”.

Labour’s safeguarding minister Jess Phillips confronted a deluge of hate from Mr Musk, who accused her of being a “rape genocide apologist” after Labour’s choice to say no a Whitehall-led inquiry into baby sexual abuse in Oldham.

“When individuals with enormous power abuse their position and spread false or misleading information, we should all be concerned,” mentioned Full Fact.

In its report, the charity additionally urged the UK authorities to roll out promised synthetic intelligence (AI) laws, which regardless of being in a complicated state, it reported went “up in the air” after Mr Trump’s re-election.

AI-generated content material sharing pretend audio clips from politicians, together with prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, confirmed why a clamp-down was required, the charity mentioned.

In abstract, the charity warned: “We are in a hybrid war, with attacks coming from some hitherto unexpected places, and if we want to protect what we value in our society we need to fight on all fronts.

“Access to accurate information forms the basis of the robust political debates we need to have. It is not a luxury, it is the foundation of our democracy.”

In response to the report, Meta highlighted it continued to take away content material that violated its group requirements, whereas additionally decreasing the distribution of content material flagged by its third-party face checkers.

An Ofcom spokesperson mentioned: “Our online information advisory committee, formed under the Online Safety Act, will play a key role in our work on mis and disinformation.

“We also agree that part of the solution is improving media literacy, particularly among vulnerable groups. We are working closely with industry and expert organisations to drive forward targeted action in this area under our existing duties, while holding platforms to account for their specific responsibilities under the Act.”

A Department for Science, Innovation and Technology spokesperson mentioned: “We are committed to protecting people online while upholding freedom of expression, to ensure the internet does not serve as a haven for those looking to spread harm, both online and offline.

“The Online Safety Act tackles illegal online content, which puts responsibility on platforms of all sizes to tackle disinformation intended to sow division in the UK, as well as content that is harmful to children.”