“Dangerous Populism” – Fact-Checkers Show Politicians Are Spreading Untruths on Social Media

Posts online by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have been fact-checked a number of times, showing a disregard for the truth by the Tory government.

Tory Misinformation Online

A recent report has revealed that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is spreading misinformation to his online followers.

Sunak Fact-Checked 

A study found that Sunak had been fact-checked 25 times by the Community Notes feature on the social media. 

Best For Britain Survey

Best for Britain, a campaign group, conducted a survey where they found that the Conservatives were more likely to spread false information online than the Labour Party.

Research Source and Methodology

The study analyzed posts on X from key political figures, comparing the amount of time the Community Notes feature appeared underneath their posts.

Community Notes Added

The Community Notes feature was added to the popular social media app after American entrepreneur Elon Musk purchased it for $40 billion.

Community Notes Explained

Community Notes appear underneath tweets that have been flagged for spreading false information, explaining why the post is misleading in the form of a note.

Comparison of Corrections

Best for Britain’s analysis concluded that the Conservative Party is nearly five times more likely to be corrected than its Labour counterpart on social media platforms.

Statement Explaining Community Notes

The social media platform said in a statement that “community notes aim to create a better-informed world by empowering people on X to collaboratively add context to potentially misleading posts”.

Tory MPs Fact-Checked

According to the survey, Conservative MP accounts, including the Prime Minister’s were flagged 73 times since adding the Community Notes feature.

Labour Party Comparison

Compared to the number of posts flagged by Labour Party members, the Conservatives shared fake news 58 times more.

Breakdown of Community Notes

The majority of community notes, 26 in total, were associated with the Conservative Party’s official account, with an additional 25 attached to posts made by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Opposition Responses

Labour leader Keir Starmer managed to rack up four community notes in total, with the Labour Party’s official X account seeing community notes pop up on seven posts.

General Election Year

According to the CEO of Best For Britain, Naomi Smith, the public should take this information into consideration ahead of the general election predicted for Autumn.

CEO’s Lack of Trust Argument

Smith argued that the findings “shouldn’t be taken lightly, especially in an election year where lack of trust can feed dangerous populism”.

Tories Should Go

Smith went on to argue that, due to the large number of Community Notes, the public should reconsider its trust in the Conservative Party and claim they should be elected out.

Conservatives Can’t Be Trusted?

Smith claimed, “A government that the public can’t trust to act with integrity and transparency – both essential for liberal democracy – is a government that shouldn’t be in power.”

Smith Pleads For General Election

Smith ended the statement by calling for a general election, “We need a general election and our polling shows that the public want it now,” she argued.

Landslide Defeat on the Cards

According to a recent Ipsos poll, the current government is facing a potential landslide defeat the likes of which hasn’t been seen since Tony Blair’s victory in 1997.

Sunak “Scared” to Call Election

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to call the election in a recent PMQs, accusing Sunak of being too “scared” to call it before Autumn.

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The post “Dangerous Populism” – Fact-Checkers Show Politicians Are Spreading Untruths on Social Media first appeared on Edge Media.

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