Facebook has announced the creation of 500 new jobs for an engineering centre in London which will develop artificial intelligence (AI) software to help combat harmful and malicious content on its platforms.

The 500 new roles, including 100 focussed on AI, will bring Facebook’s total London-based workforce to 3,000 by the end of 2019.

The move comes as Facebook continues to invest in its strategy to clamp down on harmful, violent and fake news posts on its services including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

The company said the new staff will be based in Facebook’s Community Integrity Team, which is building machine learning software to proactively detect and remove malicious content.

The team, which will be based in Facebook’s new office in Soho, is also developing tools to assist workers who review systems for the thousands of community operations agents worldwide.

London is Facebook’s biggest engineering hub outside of the US, and by the end of the year, across the three London sites, 1,800 people will be employed in technology and engineering.

Announcing the investment in a speech at London Tech Week, Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook’s vice president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said: “Safety is our top priority at Facebook and over the last two years we’ve substantially increased our investment in this area.

“These hundreds of new jobs demonstrate not only our commitment to the UK but also our determination to do everything we can to keep Facebook safe and secure.”

Digital secretary Jeremy Wright said: "The UK is uniquely placed to spearhead the digital transformation of society and our modern Industrial Strategy aims to use the power of technology to change people’s lives for the better.

“I welcome this new Facebook investment – it is a timely reminder we have the skills, location and language digital firms need to succeed, and a positive step which will see UK expertise helping to develop tech solutions to tackle harmful behaviour worldwide."

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