UK: Twitter accuses PM Johnson’s Party of misleading public with fact-check account

Social media giants, Twitter has accused British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ruling Conservative Party of misleading the public after repeated instances of name change stunts on one of its accounts on the social media platform.

Twitter which warned that a ‘decisive corrective action’ would be taken should the action repeat itself accused the ruling party of altering the name of one of its accounts on the social media platform to mimic a fact-checking service during a televised election debate.

“Twitter is committed to facilitating healthy debate throughout the UK general election,” a spokesperson for the social media giant was quoted as saying.

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“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.”

Reports reveal that the Conservative Campaign Headquarters press office’s account, followed by nearly 76,000 Twitter users, changed its name to “factcheckUK” from its usual “CCHQPress” and switched its avatar to a white tick against a purple background.

The Conservative Party made the change on Tuesday while Johnson was debating Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, on live television weeks before the United Kingdom’s December 12 election.

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