The vast majority of voters believe fake newspapers being promoted by political parties – sometimes without making clear who they’re from – should be banned.
Byline Times has been investigating a deluge of party political leaflets being dressed up as local newspapers, issued by Conservative Party HQ to marginal parliamentary seats across the country.
Often the “imprint” – a legal requirement for election material setting out who is printing and promoting the flyers – is in tiny writing and in grey at the bottom of the page, while the name of the Conservative Party is not mentioned.
Readers have responded with anger. One wrote: “Many people will be fooled by this, especially older people who I would imagine tend to read the local papers more are also less likely to notice the microscopic small print in hard to find places.”
Another branded it “Tory marketing deliberately disguised as independent news”, while one recipient dubbed it “dirty tricks” campaigning.
The ruse has previously been condemned by industry body the News Media Association among other press groups.
Now exclusive polling for Byline Times by independent pollsters Omnisis has found that 62 per cent of people in Britain think that the fake newspaper tactic should be banned if they do not make clear which party is behind it.
The figure rises to 65 per cent among Conservative voters, the same as for Labour voters. Liberal Democrats, who also have been known to use fake newspapers for election material, are less in favour of a ban (55 per cent). The figure rises significantly among over 75s, some of whom may be more vulnerable to misleading campaign materials: 75 per cent back a ban on the practice. And opposition sits at 71 per cent among those with no formal qualifications.
Over 1,300 GB adults were polled online by Omnisis on the 22nd August 2023. Answers were weighted to make the results representative of the demographics of the British public.
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