Secretive Covid disinformation unit worked with security services
Documents submitted to inquiry reveal the ‘UK intelligence community’ has been involved in the CDU since it was founded in 2019 | A government unit accused of seeking to suppress free speech during the pandemic worked with Britain’s intelligence agencies, senior civil servants have confirmed. Documents submitted to the Covid inquiry and marked “official sensitive” reveal that the “UK intelligence community” has been involved in the Counter-Disinformation Unit (CDU) since it was founded in 2019. ● The unit was set up by ministers to tackle disinformation – false information that is deliberately spread – and initially focused on foreign interference in the European elections. However, in 2020 it turned its attention to the pandemic and collected social media posts by members of the British public. The intelligence community – which includes MI6, MI5 and GCHQ – continued “working closely” with the CDU “where appropriate” during this time, documents show.