Makerfield by-election voters ‘heavily targeted’ with misinformation and AI fakes

Misinformation in local Facebook groups has quadrupled ahead of the crucial Makerfield by-election and Andy Burnham has emerged as the main target of fake news.

Since the campaign launched last month, almost a sixth of news in local groups has been misinformation, according to new research from a think tank; This reflects a fourfold increase.

The Social Market Foundation analyzed thousands of posts shared in four groups before May 14, when Josh Simons stepped aside to make room for Mr Burnham, and content that was subsequently removed.

The rate of misinformation, including fake AI, rose from an average of 0.3 percent to 5.7 percent across all content ahead of Thursday’s contest.

The group’s research director, Dr. Rebecca Montacute said: Independent: “This is a very unusual byelection, we have someone very high profile… If Andy Burnham wins the byelection, it could have a huge impact on national politics if he runs in the Labor Party leadership election.

“So you can see why it would be a target of misinformation because of the larger national ramifications.”

The think tank said that apart from one report on 5G conspiracies, all the misinformation it identified was anti-Labor or pro-Reform in nature.

Conspiracy stories about false claims that Mr Burnham deliberately covered up the grooming gangs scandal have been reshared several times, it has emerged. Another post showed a fake AI-generated Reform UK banner.

Ms Montacute said levels of misinformation had increased during various elections in Britain, partly driven by pages masquerading as news organisations.

A report published earlier this month found that there was almost three times as much fake news in Facebook groups in areas with limited local news sources.

“It’s definitely concerning because we know that a lot of people are now going to local social media to really get a look at what’s going on in their area,” he said. “The overall decline in local news means that for many people it is the only source of this information.”

Improving access to AI also makes it easier for people to create and share fake posts, he said.

The think tank analyzed 1,800 posts from four groups and found that the information was concentrated in two groups. One group went from hosting no misinformation to 6.3 percent of all posts being classified as fake news, while in another group, the rate increased from 0.8 percent to 16.4 percent.

The think tank said some people objected to the fake content, while others appeared to believe it.

SMF said the other two did not contain any misinformation arising from the characteristics of the group.

He called on social media platforms to increase moderation and limit the risk of misinformation spreading during elections.

This removes misinformation that could directly contribute to the risk of imminent physical harm and content that is likely to contribute to direct interference in the functioning of political processes, Meta said.

During the Gorton and Denton midterm elections in February, the rate of misinformation in four local Facebook groups was 26 times higher.

But SMF said it was more politically balanced than seen in Makerfield, where Labor and its candidate were “heavily targeted”.

Full Fact also identified examples of misinformation at Makerfield on platforms such as Facebook and X.

Claire Milne told Independent The fact-checking charity said it had seen an example of an AI-generated image of Mr Burnham meeting a group of men who appeared to be of Asian descent, and that the image was being circulated alongside false claims that he planned to make Makerfield a “home for more asylum seekers”.

It also found an AI-generated image of an anti-Reform rally in Wigan that allegedly took place but did not happen.

“It could certainly cause confusion. It could certainly harm both voters and democracy,” he said.

X has been contacted for comment.