Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of activity of hostile states in relation to spreading disinformation and conspiracy theories on covid-19.

The Government takes the issue of disinformation very seriously. During the Covid-19 pandemic, it continues to be vitally important that the public has accurate information about the virus, and DCMS is leading work across Government to tackle disinformation.

That is why we stood up the Counter Disinformation Unit up on 5 March to bring together cross-Government monitoring and analysis capabilities. The Unit’s primary function is to provide a comprehensive picture of the extent, scope and impact of disinformation and misinformation regarding Covid-19 and to work with partners to ensure appropriate action is taken.

Whilst disinformation can come from a range of sources, we know that certain states routinely use disinformation as a foreign policy tool. The UK, along with our G7 and Nato partners, is working hard to protect our democracies against disinformation as we work together to tackle the shared threat of Covid-19

We continue to monitor for any disinformation campaigns and any related conspiracy theories so that we can respond to them quickly and effectively. We are focused on addressing disinformation by any actor, whether state or non-state.