The Conservatives were embroiled in a ‘fake news’ row after using doctored footage of Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer in a campaign video.
The clip showed the shadow
Brexit secretary appearing silent when Good Morning Britain’s Piers Morgan asked a question about Labour’s policy on leaving the EU.
But the heavily-edited footage was criticised for wrongly giving the impression that Starmer did not answer questions straightaway and was unable to answer, when the full clip shows that was not the case.
Brexit is set to be a key issue in the campaign, with
Labour pledging to negotiate a new deal which will be put to the public in a new
referendum and the Conservatives vowing to leave with the deal
Boris Johnson has agreed.
Morgan was among those who criticised the video as “misleading and unfair”. WATCH: Jeremy Corbyn's Brexit Minister can't or won't answer a simple question about Labour's position on Brexit. pic.twitter.com/wsxMlUuq9N— Conservatives (@Conservatives) November 5, 2019Correct, he did, albeit not very convincingly - but the way this has been edited is misleading & unfair to @Keir_Starmer. https://t.co/6bIUumx4GP— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) November 5, 2019You doctored the end of the clip you originally put out, to make it look like @Keir_Starmer had no answer to my question. In fact he answered immediately. You could have had plenty of fun with that interview anyway - why fake it? https://t.co/nskZ0hgnyc— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) November 5, 2019In other words, on its official
Twitter handle, the party of government doctored a video, giving many viewers a false impression of what @Keir_Starmer said. Naturally they'll respond that this is a satirical take, edited for time + effect. But many viewers will think it authentic https://t.co/OT5eRRHKSL— Amol Rajan (@amolrajan) November 5, 2019Campaiging journalist Peter Stefanovic also tweeted, saying: “In a doctored video, tweeted on the Tories’ official twitter account, the party inserted several seconds of Sir Keir’s face in silence after a question during a TV news interview. This is the level of the Conservative party’s desperation.”
A Labour source told HuffPost UK: “I agree with Piers Morgan. The Tories’ campaign video is misleading. Another Tory lie.”
Full Fact, a neutral organisation which tests politicians’ claims, also criticised the video. Earlier today the Conservatives posted an edited video of Keir Starmer's GMB interview. Editing the clip in this way has created a false narrative. It is irresponsible for a political party to mislead the public like this. https://t.co/fKSReBM4aOhttps://t.co/yqEgQFOrN4— Full Fact (@FullFact) November 5, 2019Defending itself, the party’s official Twitter account posted the clip and later posted the footage, claiming it was a “car crash interview” - again, leaving out the key part of the footage. There have been some enquiries about the veracity of Keir Starmer’s interview this morning where he was unable to explain Labour’s plan to delay Brexit.Believe it or not, this car crash interview did really take place👇👇👇 https://t.co/M4aaMou6ti— CCHQ Press Office (@CCHQPress) November 5, 2019Related... No.10 Breaks ‘Clear Promise’ To Give MPs Vote On Extending Brexit Transition Philip Hammond To Quit Parliament At General Election Jo Swinson 'Categorically' Rules Out Any Hung Parliament Deal To Make
Jeremy Corbyn PM