Zalo campaign to rebut people smugglers’ lies in Vietnam
Source: gov.uk (2025-03-30)

The government is launching adverts for the first time on Zalo, as it expands its campaign warning people about the dangers of trusting people smuggling gangs.

Zalo, the Vietnamese instant messaging and social platform, has over 77 million monthly users.

The ads will run on Zalo and Vietnamese news aggregator Báo Mới in the coming weeks, the first time the UK government has ever advertised on these platforms, helping to secure our borders as part of the Plan for Change.

The campaign forms part of the government’s response to a deluge of false claims spread on social media platforms encouraging people to come to the UK illegally. Posts frequently use coded messages to evade content moderation, such as referring to small boat crossings as a ‘game’. People smugglers have also offered discounts to those who film their journey so the footage can be used as promotional material.

The campaign launch comes as the UK hosts the landmark Organised Immigration Crime Summit at Lancaster House on 31 March to 1 April.

The summit will bring together delegates from over 40 countries and marks a step change in the international community’s approach to tackling OIC. It is a critical opportunity to strengthen global co-operation, disrupt criminal networks, and prevent further loss of life.

Representatives from Meta, X and TikTok are attending the summit to discuss how to jointly tackle the online promotion of irregular migration, such as illegal people smuggling networks. The National Crime Agency announced in January that it had triggered the removal of more than 8,000 accounts linked to people smuggling last year, working closely with social media companies.

The government is currently running ads on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to counter this content in Vietnam, which has already reached over 53 million people since the campaign launched in December.

Vietnamese nationals remain among the top nationality groups crossing the Channel illegally. They accounted for 17% of small boat arrivals in the first half of 2024, reducing to 6% in the second half. Further campaigns have recently been launched in Albania and Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said:

People smugglers are always looking for new ways to peddle their vile trade and we are exposing their lies at every opportunity.

This government is securing our borders and delivering on our Plan for Change, dismantling the criminal gangs who abuse our borders and warning migrants about the risks and realities of coming to the UK illegally.

Founder and CEO of the Vietnamese Family Partnership, Quynh Nguyen, said:

As representatives of the Vietnamese community in the UK, we support the expansion of the social media campaign on Zalo to prevent irregular migration.

Zalo is widely used in Vietnam and introducing adverts on the channel will help to reach many more vulnerable people to warn them of migrant smugglers’ lies.

Our community understands the importance of legal routes, and we are committed to sharing this message with families in Vietnam. We aim to inform and support our community by highlighting the dangers of illegal migration and the importance of seeking legal and safe pathways.