To be fed up of the political manipulation on mumsnet

[ZenNudist]

It's incessant and it's wearing. It's been going on for years and I'm fed up of the massive amount of tory party generated and lobbying content blocking up mumsnet.

I appreciate mumsnet is seen as a key voter demographic but a lot of the threads being posted are so transparently fiction.

The billion VAT on school fees threads must have been a mix of real people and tory HQ.

Fake outrage started immediately and now well into saying that with less than 4 Months of government and before enacting their first budget the Labour Party are apparently making a mess of everything and reversing the great gains made during tory rule. What great gains? I don't know. I saw one post trying to take tory credit for reducing inflation like that was Rishi's doing, laughable.

I also have seen a few fake scenarios for adverse impact of the budget on inheritance and small business taxation. Speaking as someone who will be adversely affects by increasing employer NI and the reduction in business property relief I still support these changes. My friends who are small business owners feel the same way.

Labour promised not to put up the main rates of income tax and employee NI. They were clear that measures would need to be taken to increase the tax take. They still are trying to drive growth because at the end if the day increasing the tax base is the best way of increasing revenue to the exchequer.

I know a lot of mumsnetters say they can't spot trolls or AI threads. I also think a lot of people will not spot the blatant manipulation by lobbyists and tory campaigners.

Tory party now playing a long game.

The Tory party is funded by the rich for the benefit of the rich. The rest of the middle, the poor, the marginalised have almost no voice and no one funding a political machine to work in our favour.

I agree. The sheer number of threads is bizarre. In my day to day life most people haven't discussed politics since the election!!

It's almost like an online forum is self-selecting!

I agree OP. Even though the real Conservatives are no longer in Parliament and since 2016, have been diminishing in number in the party.

No longer the party of law and order, supportive of the Monarchy, and of sound finance.

I agree especially after Rachel Reeves and Wes Streeting have repeatedly stated that they are going to increase funding and prioritise reform to Primary Care.

Op you seem convinced op there plenty in the press in the Guardian, BBC, the IFS and the Resolution Foundation

It seems incredibly blinkered to think everyone who is negatively impacted and posting about the budget on here is making it up

Yeah, look at all those right-wing bots at checks notes GP Online!

Budget risks 'pushing GPs towards the exit' as practice costs rise | GPonline

Completely agree with yóu.

It's ridiculous and pathetic.

But why can't you read an opinion that doesn't match your Labour one without this reaction?

This isn't a close Labour site, I'm sure there are some out there if it's what you're after

Boris Johnson is a prolific liar and yet many British people like him very much (and indeed, still think he would make a better Prime Minister than anyone else).
Who can forget the Brexit bus porky-pies, and the subsequent Partygate prevarications. In November 2019, during a televised leaders’ debate, the Conservatives changed the name of the Conservative campaign headquarters X account to FactcheckUK hoping to steer anyone trying to verify Boris Johnson’s typically dubious claims back towards the party’s own alternative truths.

Jeffrey Archer is another - actually convicted of perjury, and yet he is lauded across television, and people still buy his books.

The distinction between felonies and misdemeanors has long since been abolished in the UK - it only persists in the United States as a result of it having rebelled against Britain in 1776, before the laws were updated.

Don't get me wrong - I don't rate Trump either - but to take the moral high ground in the UK on lying and legal convictions is perhaps a step too far given the last 14 years.

Not necessarily making it up, but definitely easily manipulated to think and vote a certain way, and the Tories know that.

But do carry on convincing yourself just how awful labour are compared to the Tories 👍🏼

This is a predominantly female site. Donald Trump is a repeat sex abuser of women.

I agree with the IFS and Resolution Foundation on the issues from the budget and have been interested in what they've said.

What I don't get is Labour posters lashing out with insults etc just because the entire site isn't their point of view, I mean it's not meant to be just for Labour. Why would it be?

And now Labour are in power of course more posts and threads will be about those policies

If they prefaced it with "I am a Tory voter" I wouldn't mind so much.

GP practice owners and farmers are real people though and just as likely to post on Mumsnet as anywhere? If anything, those are difficult, lonely long hours jobs where you either can't talk politics or have no te to do so in sociable hours, so maybe more likely?

I'm neither of those but I worked for a farmer briefly and their issues are a) complex and b) not well understood by the majority of people who have no contact with the land. I can fully believe politicians know bugger all about farming. Why would they?

No time. Not no te. I hope they have tea, at least.

I think it’s a toss up between Boris Johnson and Liz Truss for worst PM this country has ever had, I think the Conservative Party has chosen to become the Brexit Party and no reasonable person could vote for them now. I do also think not having a strong opposition is bad for the country tho so hoped the Conservatives sort themselves out soon (I think Corbyn was partly responsible for Brexit because he refused to campaign on it because he was a secret Brexiter).

HOWEVER, I believe the NHS budget has increased by more than £300 million a week since. So arguably was true.

The rest of what you said I believe to be accurate.

Was it the suicidal multimillionaire octogenarian farmer that pushed you over the edge?

It is tiresome but at the end of the day so much stuff on here is not factually accurate, I don't see that they can weed out the political ones.

@Unbelooth I love that many with the mentality ofReform voters think they are Tory's -in my youth many Tory's were extremely charitable to those not as fortunate as themselves and extremely philanthropic and pro small business and pro EU - don't find many Tory's like that these days. Perhaps better to say I'm pro business, pro EU and not anti people with cash- only the ones trying to hide it - and I'm not pro unlimited untendered handouts to all and sundry either - ( Torys were pretty keen on that too provided they were Tory's)

I agree, OP.

Some of the threads are legit, some are very obviously by OPs who are paid or volunteer to start and continue them for ulterior motives. I think very few are actually AI generated.

It's not just MN, it's every forum and every news site, everywhere.

The single biggest problem these days is knowing who and what to believe. I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that the answer is nobody and nothing that I can't back up myself.

This has been going on for years and year, it's only now that a substantial chunk of 'normal' people realise it. It's going to be years before it's acknowledged as A Thing, and even more years before we work out how to deal with it. Or accept not to. It's terrifying, really.

Yes you r right on that but I am going by polls. I am very disappointed that my fellow brits thought borris wasn’t a liar etc

Just because the people you mix with aren't politically engaged, doesn't mean nobody is! I've had a good few discussions about politics since the election with a number of people.

I am very suspicious of posters on mumsnet who 'only' post on anything political- it just seems odd to me and doesn't feel quite right. Does make me question whether they are 'staff' - don't care if it's to the right or left- very few who 'only' post on politics appear to be neutral or without an agenda.
It's a bit like the plethora of men who suddenly post on posts related to porn or prostitutes

It used to be a very left-leaning site but nowadays I find myself frequently wondering whether I’ve accidentally wandered onto the Mail Online comments section.

I’m rapidly tiring of this site and starting to find Tattle more entertaining and better-balanced. Probably because the Tory bots and PR grubs can’t register on there.

Yeah, it’s brainwashing, basically.

Given that only about 6% of children go to independent schools the vast majority must have mums on here.