Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment her Department has made of the findings in the recent report published by Big Brother Watch titled Ministry of Truth: The Secretive Government Units Spying On Your Speech.

I refer the Hon. member to the answers given to PQs 148800, 148801, 148802 on 28 February 2023.

The Rapid Response Unit was used to understand the spread of information and potential disinformation, and help inform how the Government communicates effectively with the public.

Online disinformation is a serious threat to the UK, which is why we brought together expertise from across government to monitor disinformation, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. These units used publicly available data, including material shared on social media platforms, to assess UK disinformation trends and narratives. They have since been disbanded and the learning and expertise is now being replicated across the wider Government Communications Service.