Sadiq Khan interview manipulated as ‘bad faith actors to profit from poison’ in social media disinformation war

The post, which has amassed tens of thousands of views online, appears to show the Mayor of London criticising Sir Keir Starmer for not condemning Islamophobia at the march last Saturday.

Instead, it's been revealed that the clip was a "cheap fake", with his reaction lifted from an interview in 2024 where he addressed then-PM Rishi Sunak for failing to call out comments made by one of his MPs.

A cheap fake - or shallow fake as it's sometimes known - is similar to a deepfake, but instead of using AI to create a fabricated image or video, existing content is edited and manipulated to change its meaning.

A source close to Sir Sadiq told LBC it forms part of a “dangerous disinformation campaign eating away at the basic bonds of trust that hold our societies together.”

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Hosted by right-wing agitator Tommy Robinson, thousands of people took to the streets of London on 16th May 2026 for a march to “come together, connect, and stand united during a period of significant national change.”

During the event, three women were filmed walking onto a stage in Niqabs, before tearing them off in a stunt experts say was designed to symbolise the triumph of the West over Islam.

A so-called ‘cheap fake’ video was then posted across multiple social media platforms, alongside footage of the Niqab stunt, in which Sadiq Khan appeared to call the Prime Minister weak.

“There's been no firm condemnation from the Prime Minister or anybody else in a senior position in government,” the video showed him saying.

“I'm unclear why they're unwilling to call out what are clearly Islamophobic, anti-Muslim and racist tropes. Why is he so nervous? Why is he so concerned? Why is he so weak to call these out?”

The footage was taken from an interview with Channel 4 News in February 2024, when Mr Khan was responding to comments by then-Conservative MP Lee Anderson, claiming “Islamists” had “got control” of the Mayor of London.

They ultimately led to his suspension from the party, for “refusing to apologise”.

Posting his reaction to losing the whip on social media, Mr Anderson said: "I understand the difficult position that I have put both [the chief whip] and the prime minister in with regard to my comments.

"I fully accept that they had no option but to suspend the whip in these circumstances.”

Lee Anderson has since joined Reform UK and last week was appointed the party’s chairman.

The source, close to the mayor, told LBC: “This is yet another example of a purposefully misleading disinformation campaign.

“By stripping the context and distorting the time and place where the comments were originally made, the creator has attributed an entirely false response to Sadiq on recent protests.

“The outrage economy is enabling people to profit from poison – often from outside the UK. This wasn’t the first time Sadiq has been targeted in this way, and it’s unlikely to be the last, as bad faith actors seek to profit off dividing our diverse communities.”

It’s not the first time Sadiq Khan has fallen victim to false videos appearing to show him making comments.

In November 2023, AI was used to create a widely circulated audio clip which claimed to be a secret recording of him ahead of Armistice Day.

It claimed he’d said he controlled the Metropolitan Police and that a pro-Palestinian march should take precedence over Remembrance Sunday.

At the time, the mayor warned it nearly led to serious disorder on the streets, saying: “What was being said was a red rag to a bull for the far right.”

The BBC traced the origin of the clip to a TikTok account called HJB News.

The person behind it denied to the broadcaster that they had created it and said the account posts “news that could be real with a sense of humour.”

The latest video of Mr Khan was shared by the same account.

LBC understands the post was reported to each of the social media sites it was posted on and has since been removed from TikTok, with the account suspended.

It was still up on X and Instagram four days after it had been posted and three days after Sadiq Khan’s team reported it for disinformation which they claim is designed “to spread division”.