Foreign interference

Foreign Interference is related to malign activity carried out for, or on behalf of, or intended to benefit a foreign power. Prohibited conduct captured by this offence will include, for example, where there is a misrepresentation of a person’s identity or purpose, or in the presentation of information, for example, through state-backed disinformation campaigns.

Foreign influence operations online are conducted using a variety of tactics. Disinformation is one of the most frequently reported and is often associated with foreign interference. It is an overarching tactic often used in foreign influence operations.

4D HYPE prohibits Contributions where a person engages in conduct for, on behalf of, or with intent to benefit a foreign power, in a way which has or is intended to have an interference effect, for example, to interfere with how a person participates in political or legal processes, to interfere with the exercise of public functions or prejudice the safety or interests of the UK. And 4D HYPE prohibits malign activity carried out for, or on behalf of, or intended to benefit a foreign power, this activity can include, making deliberately offensive or provocative Contributions to manipulate public opinion or cause conflicts, inauthentic behaviour and manipulation to create and amplify disinformation, Contributions that publish individuals private or identifiable information or Contributions that hack and leak operations, Contributions organising distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, Contributions that amplify conspiracy narratives, the creation of disinformation, deepfakes or cheap-fakes, Contributions amplifying an existing ‘wedge’ issue to disrupt social cohesion, using bots to generate or amplify Contributions and Contributions intended to manipulate or impersonate journalism (in reference to all the aforementioned prohibitions, we also prohibit Contributions attempting, conspiring, encouraging, assisting, or aiding and abetting the commission and/or facilitation of these).

Here’s an example of prohibited Contributions related to foreign interference:

  • inauthentic behaviour and manipulation to create and amplify disinformation on the efficacy and alleged side effects of vaccines for children, using misrepresentations, disinformation and false identities infiltrating legitimate debates on the topic.

If you are logged in to your 4D HYPE account, you can submit a report for any Contributions that contain or may violate any of the prohibitions mentioned above. To submit a report directly from a Contributions page, click ‘Make report’, from the ‘Send report’ box select ‘?’ from the available report types.

If you don't have a 4D HYPE account, you can always submit a report here by selecting ‘Report Content Policy Violation’ from the drop down list under the ‘What do you need assistance with?‘ and then selecting ‘?’ from the drop down list under ‘Policy Violation: *’. When completing the form please include as much information as possible including the URL(s) where applicable of the Contributions within the ‘Details of inquiry: *’ box.