The Conservative leader on the London Assembly, Susan Hall, is facing an investigation after she shared an AI-generated video depicting a small boat migrant brandishing a machete. Labour has formally complained about the post, which showed a man in a life vest on a dinghy shouting “this is the end of England” while waving a large blade and throwing papers overboard.
Hall's Social Media Post and Deletion
Ms Hall shared the video on X (formerly Twitter) on July 1, along with the caption: “‘This is the end of England’ he shouts. If we don’t stop these wretched boat crossings he could be right. Deport them all I say. They should not be allowed to stay here under any circumstances.” She later deleted the post after being informed that the video may have been generated by artificial intelligence. The fake clip appears to have been based on a real video shared the previous day by a news website, but the original did not show the man speaking English, throwing papers, or holding a machete.
Labour's Complaint and Code of Conduct Allegation
In a letter to the Greater London Authority Monitoring Officer, Rory McKenna, Labour Assembly Member Marina Ahmad, who represents Lambeth and Southwark and chairs the Labour group on the London Assembly, argued that Ms Hall may have breached the GLA’s Code of Conduct. The code requires that “holders of public office should be truthful”. Ms Ahmad stated: “It is clear from the video and Assembly Member Hall’s accompanying text that it is being used to make a political point about small-boat crossings, deportations and migration. Assembly Member Hall is entitled to her views on these topics, even if I disagree with those views. Political disagreements are vital to the democratic process... However, using fake AI generated videos to express these views is wrong.” She added: “AI-generated misinformation is not a toy for politicians chasing clicks. This is exactly the sort of fake, inflammatory content that is poisoning our politics. Susan Hall needs to explain to Londoners why she was happy to share it.”
Hall's Response and Previous Controversy
Ms Hall defended her actions, telling the Standard: “I didn't recognise that as AI. Ages after it was done someone said it might be, so I deleted it. Isn't it a shame that Labour don't spend their time scrutinising the Mayor instead of wondering about tweets.” This is not the first time Ms Hall has faced criticism over AI-generated content. Last year, she shared a social media post featuring an AI image of the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, struggling in water, which she described as “meant as a lighthearted joke”.
Mayor's Warning on Online Disinformation
Sir Sadiq Khan has previously warned about the dangers of online disinformation and its impact on London. He told the Standard earlier this year: “I realised a few years ago that my experience of London, knocking on doors, speaking to Londoners on a daily basis versus the perception of London you see online doesn’t seem to match up. We’ve done a lot of work, spoken to lots of experts and what’s quite clear is big tech is responsible for a lot of good but some bad as well. There is now an outrage economy that’s built around what I call a division dividend. What that means is people and companies are profiting from poison and division and at the core of this is the way the algorithms work on social media. Whether it’s TikTok, Instagram, X, YouTube or Snapchat, what it does is it monetises negative messages but also it provides a platform for people who have their own agenda.”
