Anti-Burnham Fake News on Makerfield Facebook Accounts Surges, Report Finds
Good morning. Andy Burnham appears to be leading on Thursday. However, if he does secure victory, it will be despite a significant rise in hostile, false news about him circulating on local Facebook groups. This increase has been documented by the Social Market Foundation (SMF) thinktank, highlighting important implications not only for Makerfield but also for the broader political landscape in an era dominated by social media rife with misinformation.
Nearly 1 in 6 pieces of news shared in local Facebook groups during the campaign is false, with misinformation heavily targeting Labour and its candidate Andy Burnham, a new study has found.
The SMF analysed over 1,800 posts across four local Facebook groups representing various towns and settlements within the Makerfield constituency, collectively comprising 66,000 members. The study found that the proportion of news posts classified as misinformation increased from 4% before the by-election was announced to 16% during the campaign, marking a fourfold rise.
These findings emerge just days before what has been described as the most consequential by-election in a century. Nearly half of Britons (46%) now obtain local news through social media, second only to television and ahead of all other sources. Over a third (34%) use local social media groups for news, despite these platforms lacking the fact-checking and editorial standards typical of traditional press outlets.
The shift from recency-driven to engagement-driven feeds can amplify misinformation. This effect is evident in Makerfield’s local Facebook groups. In one group, 5 of the top 10 posts were misinformation; in another, 8 of the top 25 posts were false. Engagement, whether agreement or challenge, causes the platform’s algorithm to boost such misinformation.
The SMF has released this study as part of a broader investigation into social media’s impact on politics. Earlier this month, it published findings indicating that fake news is three times more prevalent in areas lacking robust local journalism.
Additionally, the Institute recently published its Digital News Report, noting that for the first time, social media and video networks have become more popular than both television and owned news websites and apps across the markets surveyed.
Theo Bertram, director of the SMF, stated that the Makerfield report underscores the need for Ofcom to take stronger action against fake news on platforms like Facebook.
Voters in Makerfield are being exposed to harmful misinformation – and at an even greater intensity than we have seen in the rest of the UK. Too often local misinformation goes unchecked by big tech and unchallenged by national media. We need stronger enforcement from the companies and sustained investment in local news and reporting.
Agenda for the Day
9am: Liz Kendall, the technology secretary, participates in an LBC phone-in.
9.30am: The Department for Work and Pensions releases figures on personal independence payment (PIP) claims.
10am: A former health secretary and Labour leadership hopeful delivers a speech on “progressive capitalism.”
Morning: The Prime Minister speaks to broadcasters in Evian during the G7 summit and holds an off-camera briefing with lobby correspondents covering the event.
11.30am: Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, answers questions in the Commons.
Noon: Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, gives a speech proposing restrictions on judges’ ability to intervene in deportation cases.
Noon: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
Afternoon: Kemi Badenoch campaigns in Aberdeen South, where a by-election is taking place and the Tories aim to take the seat from the SNP.
Afternoon: John Healey, the former defence secretary, is expected to make a Commons statement regarding his resignation last week.
2pm: Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister, speaks at the Unison conference.
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