The Conservatives are looking to replicate the Brexit campaign with a late spending surge on misleading adverts on Facebook.
With just days to go until the General Election, adverts have been distributed to voters across the country warning that a “national ULEZ” will be brought in under a Keir Starmer government, a claim which has no basis in truth.
One advert shared by Byline Times politics editor Adam Bienkov shows an ad targeted at voters in Altrincham, near Manchester, which uses the fake claim to warn of the consequences of a so-called Labour ‘supermajority’.
During the Brexit vote, the official Vote Leave campaign spent more than £2.7 million on targeting ads at specific groups of people on Facebook.
The ads, created by Canadian company Aggregate AIQ, often focused on specific issues – such as immigration or animal rights – thought likely to push the buttons of certain groups of people.
Animal lovers, for example, were targeted by ads featuring polar bears and bullfighters.
Whereas tea-lovers saw ads such as this appear on their timeline.
Chris Morris, the chief executive of Full Fact, says rebuilding trust should be at the top of the next government’s priorities.
“The evening’s first question got to the heart of the matter—we needed to hear both leaders explain what they are going to do about the lack of honesty in politics, and how they will restore trust.
“With trust in politics at a 40-year low, both main parties have still spent much of this campaign slinging around dodgy claims about one another’s economic policies. But voters aren’t stupid. They see through it, and they know they deserve better.
“In a healthy democracy, people who seek public office should be respected – it’s a tough job. But they have to earn that respect. It’s not a given. Gimmicks like rebranding official media channels as something they’re not turn important political debate into pantomime.
“If Keir Starmer does become Prime Minister and wants to deliver the change in the culture of politics he’s spoken about, he needs to spell out what he will actually do in practice—because rebuilding trust will be at the top of the next government’s in-tray.
“In an age where misinformation flourishes, and people struggle to know what they can believe online, there is a danger that they will conclude it is easier to trust nothing that they read or hear or see. We can’t allow that to happen, and Full Fact has set out a series of measures which will help politicians to lead by example.”
Related: Tories rebrand social media account to mimic fact-checking service… again
