Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to counter foreign disinformation and manipulation campaigns.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) works closely with the Home Office, which leads on addressing malign information activity aimed at UK audiences, and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) which leads on online safety and information threats in the UK. The FCDO is responsible for understanding and addressing information threats relating to third countries, deterring hostile activity globally and building a global ecosystem through partnerships to collectively challenge the threat.

The Foreign Secretary recognised the importance of 'stepping up action with allies on Kremlin Disinformation' in his January 2025 Locarno speech.

We have dedicated resources to identifying foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) and taking action against Russian networks. This includes sanctioning the Social Design Agency (SDA) for attempting to undermine and destabilise Ukraine; exposing Russia's attempts at electoral interference in Moldova and exposing how RT (formerly Russia Today) engages in covert influence on behalf of the Kremlin.

We are driving a collaborative international approach - the G7 pledged to 'strengthen our coordinated efforts to better prevent, detect and respond to FIMI threats'. In January 2025, the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism exposed ongoing deceitful activity of RT and the SDA to advance Russia's interests.

We have a range of programmes to build societal resilience in third countries to protect against deceptive information campaigns, and we will continue to provide factual narratives to global audiences.