Deandrea Hamilton
Editor
Providenciales, TCI – Wednesday, 7 May 2025 — Governor Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam has strongly denied social media claims that a United Kingdom-led inquiry into governance in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) is underway, describing the circulating information as both false and artificially generated.
In an official statement, the Governor’s Office confirmed there is no UK inquiry related to governance issues in the territory and emphasized the importance of relying on verified information.
“The information in question appears to be AI-generated from past media articles,” the statement read. “We advise relying only on official communications for accurate updates.”
The false reports, widely shared on social media platforms, suggested that the UK would deploy investigators and law enforcement officials to the TCI and other Overseas Territories beginning in June 2025. The fabricated claims pointed to alleged corruption and governance failures as justification for the supposed intervention.
The rumour triggered alarm among residents, with some interpreting the post as a sign of impending foreign control or a heavy-handed British presence in the territory.
Governor Selvaratnam moved quickly to allay public fears, calling for calm and urging citizens to exercise discernment when engaging with unverified online content.
“There is no inquiry. There is no deployment. There is no crisis,” an official close to the Governor’s Office added.
This incident underscores the growing challenge posed by AI-generated misinformation, particularly in small jurisdictions like the TCI where social media can rapidly amplify unverified claims.
Officials reminded the public that any major developments involving UK-TCI relations would be formally announced through official government or Governor’s Office channels.
As of now, no investigation has been launched, and governance in the Turks and Caicos Islands remains a matter of local oversight and partnership with the UK in line with existing constitutional arrangements.
