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Committee publication · Correspondence · 3 February 2026

Correspondence with the Government Affairs Department at X relating to the disinformation diplomacy inquiry, dated 28 and 14 January

From: Foreign Affairs Committee

Inquiry: Disinformation diplomacy: How malign actors are seeking to undermine democracy

Summary

Correspondence between the Foreign Affairs Committee and X (formerly Twitter) regarding an inquiry into foreign information manipulation and coordinated inauthentic behaviour. The Committee invited X to provide oral evidence on 14 January; X declined on 28 January, citing current regulatory engagement, and instead directed the Committee to its published authenticity policies and Community Notes mechanism.

Key findings

  • Foreign Affairs Committee is conducting an inquiry into foreign information manipulation and interference targeting the UK and its interests
  • Committee has gathered evidence from experts highlighting social media platforms' potential abuse by malign actors through coordinated inauthentic behaviour
  • X declined the invitation to provide public oral evidence scheduled for 2 February 2026
  • X directed the Committee to its authenticity policies and Community Notes as its primary mechanisms for addressing platform integrity and misinformation
  • Similar invitations were issued to Meta and TikTok representatives

Tone

Procedural

Topics

disinformationforeign-interferencesocial-mediacybersecuritydemocratic-integrity

Key actors

Anna Zizola, X Internet Unlimited Company, Dame Emily Thornberry MP, Niamh McDade, Foreign Affairs Committee, Meta, TikTok

Notable line

“. Thank you for your understanding; we are working closely with regulators on these topics …”

Key Quotes

“Regrettably, we must respectfully decline to provide a witness to appear before the Committee at this time.”
— Anna Zizola, X Internet Unlimited Company · Response to invitation for oral evidence
“Many have highlighted the role of social media platforms and their potential abuse by malign actors through coordinated inauthentic behaviour.”
— Dame Emily Thornberry MP · Rationale for the Committee's evidence-gathering inquiry
“… we are working closely with regulators on these topics, and we look forward to being able to support the Committee's ongoing work in the future.”
— Anna Zizola, X Internet Unlimited Company · X's closing statement in decline of invitation
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Source · parliament.uk record ↗

Correspondence with the Government Affairs Department at X relating to the disinformation diplomacy inquiry, dated 28 and 14 January | Beyond The Vote | Beyond The Vote