The British government set up a Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU) at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic [1]. A parliamentary inquiry has shown that this public body was censoring dissenting opinions.

The CDU is led by Sarah Connolly, a human rights specialist at Cambridge University. Its budget is undisclosed, but we are currently looking at a minimum of fifty employees, to which must be added those working for a subcontracted artificial intelligence company.

According to the Daily Telegraph of September 1, 2023, the CDU comprises representatives of the secret services (MI5, MI6, GCHQ) and the BBC [2].

In violation of the principle of freedom of expression, this agency has been instrumental in having dissenting opinions on Covid - such as those of Professor Carl Heneghan, Molly Kingsley and Doctor Alexandre de Figueiredo on measures concerning minors - pulled from the internet and from BBC television and radio programs.

This agency secretly lobbied social media in general. However, it reportedly encountered difficulties when it came to Twitter.

[1] "Counter-Disinformation Unit – open source information collection and analysis : privacy notice", Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, March 16, 2023.

[2] "Secretive Covid disinformation unit worked with security services", The Daily Telegraph, September 1st, 2023.