Anti-Burnham fake news on Makerfield Facebook accounts has surged, report finds – UK politics live
Summary
A report by the Social Market Foundation found that false news about Labour candidate Andy Burnham increased a lot on local Facebook groups during the Makerfield byelection campaign. The study shows that social media spreads misinformation quickly, which can affect politics, especially when local journalism is weak.Key Facts
- Nearly 1 in 6 news posts in local Makerfield Facebook groups during the campaign were false.
- Before the byelection was called, only 4% of posts were false; during the campaign, this rose to 16%.
- The report analyzed over 1,800 posts across four local Facebook groups with about 66,000 members.
- Social media often spreads misinformation because of how its algorithms promote engaging posts, even if they are false.
- Almost half of people in Britain get local news from social media, which usually lacks fact-checking like traditional journalism.
- The Social Market Foundation says big tech companies like Facebook should do more to stop fake news.
- The rise in misinformation coincides with less strong local journalism in many places.
- The report is part of a larger study on social media’s impact on politics and news consumption.
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