UK unveils new centre to counter Russian disinformation as Burnham addresses UN

The UK announced a new National Centre for Information Defence to combat online disinformation and deepfakes, with Prime Minister Andy Burnham directly accusing Russia of an "industrial-scale assault" on British interests during a UN General Assembly speech in New York. Burnham detailed Russian tactics, including bots, fake websites, forged branding of 28 British organizations, and attempts to interfere with the 2019 General Election. He noted the Kremlin spends £1.3 billion annually on information manipulation, while the Russian delegation appeared unfazed on camera. The UK has already assisted Moldova in protecting its elections from Russian interference and plans to share its expertise with other European nations facing similar threats ahead of upcoming elections.