{"id":313049,"date":"2025-08-03T07:15:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T07:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=313049"},"modified":"2025-08-05T06:48:54","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T06:48:54","slug":"uk-govt-disinfo-unit-shifts-from-lockdown-dissenters-to-spying-on-mass-migration-critics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=313049","title":{"rendered":"UK Gov\u2019t \u2018Disinfo\u2019 Unit Shifts From Lockdown Dissenters To Spying On Mass Migration Critics"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Steve Watson \u2013 modernity.news Aug 2, 2025<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p><strong>A shady government outfit in the UK that was previously tasked with identifying and monitoring COVID lockdown dissenters has been repurposed to spy on critics of mass migration and so called \u2018asylum\u2019 hotels, the Telegraph reports.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The body, now known as the\u00a0National Security and Online Information Team (NSOIT) has been lobbying social media companies such as TikTok to take action against users who post what it describes as\u00a0\u201cconcerning narratives\u201d about immigration and \u2018two tier policing\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>The unit operates within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and was previously known as the \u2018Counter Disinformation Unit\u2019 during the pandemic.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Wow. \u201cLabour\u2019s plot to silence migrant hotel critics. Emails reveal Whitehall \u2018spy\u2019 unit complaining to tech firms about content mentioning asylum seekers &amp; two-tier policing\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is WILD <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wDvNVhWVEJ\">https:\/\/t.co\/wDvNVhWVEJ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Matt Goodwin (@GoodwinMJ) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GoodwinMJ\/status\/1951039455378174142?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 31, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>During the COVID lockdowns, the unit was tasked with pressuring social media companies to target and censor those critical of the stay at home orders\u00a0and those questioning the mass vaccination of children. Discussions\u00a0opposing vaccine passports were also flagged.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\uf6a8EXCLUSIVE: A secretive government unit worked with social media companies in an attempt to curtail discussion of controversial lockdown policies.<\/p>\n<p>Read the full article here: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kWlMk735rW\">https:\/\/t.co\/kWlMk735rW<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XsbL3jDvAP\">pic.twitter.com\/XsbL3jDvAP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 The Telegraph (@Telegraph) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Telegraph\/status\/1664724903310786561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 2, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The rebranded outfit has now been flagging videos it sees as\u00a0\u00a0\u201cexacerbating tensions\u201d in Britain, particularly\u00a0in August last year\u00a0during the\u00a0unrest stemming from the murder of three children by a second generation migrant in Southport.<\/p>\n<p>The report contains examples of emails sent by government workers asking for the unit to investigate posts that are critical of migration, such as the one below to TikTok that expresses an \u2018urgent\u2019 need to monitor a post that highlighted a rejected Freedom of Information request about the location of asylum hotels, and a reference to asylum seekers as \u201cundocumented fighting-age males\u201d.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Home-office-email.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wpa-warning wpa-image-missing-alt aligncenter size-full wp-image-313051\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Home-office-email.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"480\" data-warning=\"Missing alt text\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Home-office-email.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Home-office-email-480x329.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 700px, 100vw\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Another email shows that government officials warned TikTok that users were posting about \u201ctwo-tier\u201d policing at Southport rallies, amid accusations that white protesters had been treated more harshly by the police than ethnic minorities.<\/p>\n<p>The government officials demanded that TikTok explain \u201cany measures you have taken in response\u2026as soon as you are able to\u201d.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Home-Office-email-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wpa-warning wpa-image-missing-alt aligncenter size-full wp-image-313052\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Home-Office-email-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"810\" data-warning=\"Missing alt text\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Home-Office-email-2.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Home-Office-email-2-480x555.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 700px, 100vw\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>The Telegraph report adds:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">A third example of \u201cconcerning content\u201d flagged by the team was a video of Pakistani men celebrating on a street, posted on Aug 5 and captioned: \u201cLooks like Islamabad but it\u2019s Manchester\u201d. The team claimed it had been shared \u201cin order to incite fear of the Muslim community\u201d.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The emails did not ask for the content to be removed, but requested that TikTok explained how it was dealing with it.<\/p>\n<p>The report further notes that the emails came to light in materials obtained by the US House of Representatives\u2019 judiciary committee, which issued a subpoena to TikTok to hand over messages \u201cregarding the company\u2019s compliance with foreign censorship laws\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The US under the Trump administration has expressed concern that the British government is\u00a0censoring social media, and cracking down on users who post content it deems as harmful.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">US &#8216;greatly concerned&#8217; about free speech in Britain as secretive Whitehall unit &#8216;spying&#8217; on critics of migrant hotels<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IJhXYMeixj\">https:\/\/t.co\/IJhXYMeixj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 GB News (@GBNEWS) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GBNEWS\/status\/1951606330365485318?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>These fears have only been heightened with the introduction of the so called Online Safety Act, which appears to be already being used as a tool for further censorship.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"bxtXlnTOyM\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/modernity.news\/2025\/07\/30\/the-online-safety-act-is-a-censors-charter\/\">The Online Safety Act Is A Censor\u2019s Charter<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" title=\"\u201cThe Online Safety Act Is A Censor\u2019s Charter\u201d \u2014 modernity\" src=\"https:\/\/modernity.news\/2025\/07\/30\/the-online-safety-act-is-a-censors-charter\/embed\/#?secret=bxtXlnTOyM\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" data-secret=\"bxtXlnTOyM\"><\/iframe><script><\/p>\n<p>\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/<\/p>\n<p>!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&#038;&#038;(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&#038;&#038;(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&#038;&#038;(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&#038;&#038;n.host===r.host&#038;&#038;l.activeElement===s&#038;&#038;(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p>As we highlighted last week, X users in Britain are reporting that footage of rapidly growing anti-mass migration protests in the country is being blocked under the new law.<\/p>\n<p>British users of X\u00a0shared\u00a0screenshots of messages that popped up while they attempted to view footage from the protests, which started in Epping after a migrant sexually assaulted a teenage girl and have since spread around the country.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"3ZGFTpn7g7\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/modernity.news\/2025\/07\/27\/footage-of-anti-illegal-immigrant-protests-is-now-being-blocked-in-the-uk\/\">Footage Of Anti Illegal Immigrant Protests Is Now Being BLOCKED In The UK<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" title=\"\u201cFootage Of Anti Illegal Immigrant Protests Is Now Being BLOCKED In The UK\u201d \u2014 modernity\" src=\"https:\/\/modernity.news\/2025\/07\/27\/footage-of-anti-illegal-immigrant-protests-is-now-being-blocked-in-the-uk\/embed\/#?secret=3ZGFTpn7g7\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" data-secret=\"3ZGFTpn7g7\"><\/iframe><script><\/p>\n<p>\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/<\/p>\n<p>!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&#038;&#038;(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&#038;&#038;(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&#038;&#038;(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&#038;&#038;n.host===r.host&#038;&#038;l.activeElement===s&#038;&#038;(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p>News also broke of an \u201celite\u201d police squad of officers tasked with monitoring spicy tweets about migration.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">But they won\u2019t stop burglars and thieves. Backwards. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Bas7F4MXb7\">pic.twitter.com\/Bas7F4MXb7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 m o d e r n i t y (@ModernityNews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ModernityNews\/status\/1949360557905334293?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 27, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Telegraph\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/politics\/2025\/07\/26\/elite-police-unit-to-monitor-online-critics-of-migrants\/\">report<\/a>\u00a0states:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">An elite team of police officers is to monitor social media for anti-migrant sentiment amid\u00a0fears of summer riots.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Detectives will be drawn from forces across the country to take part in a new investigations unit that will flag up early signs of potential civil unrest.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The division, assembled by the Home Office, will aim to \u201cmaximise social media intelligence\u201d gathering after police forces were criticised over their response to last year\u2019s riots.<\/p>\n<p>Elon Musk\u2019s X has accused the UK of enacting \u201ccensorship\u201d under the new law, noting \u201cThe Act\u2019s laudable intentions are at risk of being overshadowed by the breadth of its regulatory reach. Without a more balanced, collaborative approach, free speech will suffer,\u201d<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Elon Musk's X warns free speech under threat due to UK's new Online Safety Act<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/8n2f5Eojfh\">https:\/\/t.co\/8n2f5Eojfh<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 GB News (@GBNEWS) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GBNEWS\/status\/1951353734446932067?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>A spokesman for the <em>Big Brother Watch<\/em> anti-censorship group has called for an immediate investigation into the British government\u2019s National Security and Online Information Team, warning that an \u201cunaccountable and secretive Government unit is spying on speech that is critical of the police and Government policies\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLegitimate concerns about racism and violence must not become a blank cheque for the monitoring and censorship of controversial speech, absent of any oversight or scrutiny,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zfnBPzZa9T8?si=oQOnkIZJxp9amkQk\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><em>Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pauljosephwatson.locals.com\/support\">Locals<\/a>\u00a0or check out our unique\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.modernity.news\/shop\">merch<\/a>. Follow us on X\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/modernitynews\">@ModernityNews<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/modernity.news\/2025\/08\/02\/uk-govt-disinfo-unit-shifts-from-lockdown-dissenters-to-spying-on-mass-migration-critics\/\">Source\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During the Covid crisis a secretive government unit worked with social media companies to curtail discussion of controversial lockdown policies. Now the same unit is secretively pressuring social media companies to \u2018act\u2019 on posts criticising government migration policies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":289712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[42,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-313049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-controlling-the-news-andor-the-free-exchange-of-ideas-and-information","category-The_Media"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=313049"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313049\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":313053,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313049\/revisions\/313053"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/289712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=313049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=313049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=313049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}