Sadiq Khan has said that a faked clip of him making inflammatory remarks before Armistice Day nearly caused serious disorder on the streets.
The London Mayor warned the law is not "fit for purpose" over the threat of deepfakes - and said the creator of the dodgy audio "got away with it”. The viral clip used artificial intelligence (AI) to replicate his voice and make it sound like he was criticising Remembrance events and demanding that pro-Palestinian marches to take precedence.
The fake audio came at a time of heightened tensions as Rishi Sunak said the pro-Palestinian marches in a different part of central London were "disrespectful" on Armistice Day. The then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman branded the demonstrations "hate marches".
"[The timing] couldn’t have been better if you're seeking to sow disharmony and cause problems,” he told BBC Radio 4's Why Do You Hate Me? podcast. “What was being said was a red rag to a bull for the far right and others. But what concerned me the most was if you're an innocent listener of this, because it's a secret undercover recording, in inverted commas, because it sounds like me, because of the timing and the context…. And that's why it's so serious."
Mr Khan added: "We almost had serious disorder," he said. “Just imagine in a different scenario where there's more toxicity, the difference this could make or, for example, in a close election, close referenda, times where there's, you know, disharmony in a community the impact a deepfake audio…an AI generated audio or video could have."
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He argued: “People should be able to criticise me […] But I think what you shouldn’t do is manufacture lies, use AI to manufacture lies... and I think the person that made this needs to realise the consequences on that Saturday.”
The clip spread rapidly online among far-right groups and triggered a wave of hate against Mr Khan. He said: “You know, we did get concerned very quickly about what impression it may create […] I've got to be honest, it did sound a lot like me. When you've got friends and family who see this stuff, it's deeply upsetting. I mean, I’ve got two daughters, a wife, I've got, you know, siblings. I've got a mum."
The BBC traced the recording back to TikTok and what appears to be the originator of the clip, a profile called HJB News. HJB News' accounts on other social media show they shared the audio on November 9 - hours before it went viral - and there's no trace of the audio anywhere else online before HJB news shared it, the BBC said.
The creator, who only gave his name as Henry, denied creating it and said his account does not only publish "fake clips". "We post news that could be real with a sense of humour," he said. "It's what we all know Sadiq thinks," he told the BBC.
On November 11, Scotland Yard said it had examined the audio but that it did not amount to a criminal offence. HJB News said on Twitter, "well that's a relief" with an emoji of a bead of sweat rolling down a grinning face.
One of the larger accounts that spread the fake audio was Little Boats, which has shared anti-Islam and anti-immigration content and has more than 58,000 followers. Jeremy Davis, who is in charge of the account, said he still suspects Mr Khan has beliefs similar to those in the audio but apologised for sharing the fake. “It was a clever AI job," he said. "Mayor Khan, I apologise, I made a big mistake."
Mr Khan said the fake audio "wasn't a bit of fun" or "satire" and its creator had not been "naive" about the consequences. He said he accepted apologies from anyone who shared it as an innocent mistake.
He also told the podcast: “I think Parliament needs to wake up and understand that if they don’t take action, it’ll provide opportunities for mischief makers to be bolder, and I think it’s really important that we understand that the current laws we have around copyright, IP, criminal law aren’t fit for purpose.”
X and Instagram did not respond for comment. A TikTok spokesperson said it "does not allow synthetic media that contains the likeness of any real private figure” and removes this kind of content. The spokesman said TikTok spoke to both the Mayor's office and the Metropolitan Police in November and flagged how similar issues can be raised directly in future.
Why Do You Hate Me? airs on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesdays and is available on BBC Sounds
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