Tory chiefs were rebuked by Twitter today after being accused of faking a social media version of the Evening Standard’s daily FactWatch column to issue propaganda under the guise of independently verified truth.
In another blow, the Electoral Commission responded to the growing row by reminding all parties that voters are “entitled to transparency and integrity from campaigners in the lead up to an election”.
The furore erupted after the Conservatives re-branded their usual press office Twitter feed, followed by nearly 76,000 users, during last night’s TV debate with the name FactcheckUK, alongside a blue tick to indicate a verified account.
It then tweeted attacks on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and gave a verdict that Boris Johnson won the head-to-head contest.
In a statement, Twitter said the Conservative feed constituted “attempts to mislead people” and warned there would be “decisive corrective action” if the ruse was repeated.
Independent fact-checking charity Full Fact, which partners this newspaper’s project to scrutinise election claims and expose untruths, called on the Conservatives not to repeat the exercise, calling it “an attempt to mislead”.
It is the second fake news controversy sparked by the Tories, coming a week after Cabinet minister Rishi Sunak apologised for a social media video that appeared to show shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer tongue-tied during a TV interview, when in fact he gave an answer.
Labour’s David Lammy said the Electoral Commission “must investigate and punish this blatant attempt to deceive the public”.
The Liberal Democrats reported the account to Twitter.
Former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell changed his own Twitter handle to “Boris Johnson” and tweeted outrageous remarks.
Will Moy, head of Full Fact, said: “Governments depend on voters’ trust so it was inappropriate for the Conservatives to impersonate genuine independent fact-checkers.”
A Twitter spokeswoman said: “We have global rules in place that prohibit behaviour that can mislead people, including those with verified accounts. Any further attempts to mislead people by editing verified profile information — in a manner seen during the UK election debate — will result in decisive corrective action.”
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: “We will look at the advice from Twitter, but we will make no apology for having instant rebuttal of [Labour’s] nonsense and lies.” He also claimed Twitter users would have noticed that the handle was that of the Tory Party press office.
Mr Raab added: “I knock on doors every day. No one gives a toss about the social media cut-and-thrust.”
James Cleverly, Conservative Party chairman, also said last night said the Tories were "calling out Labour's wilful misinformation about the NHS and every time they do that we will call it out".
"The Twitter handled of the CCHQ Press Office remained 'CCHQPress', so it's clear the nature of the site," he told the BBC.
He said "the digital team" will have made the decision and he said they "have a remit" and "I set they remit, they work within that remit".
"I'm absolutely comfortable with them calling out when the Labour Party put what they know to be complete fabrications in the public domain," he added.
The debate was widely reported as a draw. A YouGov snap poll, asking the public who they thought did best, put Mr Johnson on 51 per cent and Mr Corbyn on 49 per cent.
Less widely reported was the finding that 67 per cent thought Mr Corbyn did well and 59 per cent thought Mr Johnson did well.
