Too many fake current affairs posts on MN

[inthetrenches1]

I’ve never started a post before (I don’t think?), I’m an on-off lurker for a while, but what’s become apparent is the number of posts on MN that have clearly been posted by political parties opposing the government. It’s just another tactic used these days like creating online petitions and fake polls about issues/fake issues to get sectors of society riled up about things they were never worried about before.

Misinformation filtering into society is at an all-time high. You can see them a mile away on here. Next time you see a “I’ve seen a poll saying Reform are more popular than Labour” just remember it’s probably a lackey of Farage and Tice’s, with seven mobile phones and three laptops, thirty different fake profiles on the go, gleefully making up these baseless posts on here and on social media.

If you want to leave a comment feel free, I only came here to post, I probably won’t be reading the replies

I agree. Far more now than under the last disastrous government.

Well apparently MNetters can't.

I am regularly called a Tory Bot. I post about lots of things other than politics, I just don't believe the current Labour incumbent are any good, doesn't make me a bot, or a Tory.

Yet the slum landlord turned out to be a Labour MP

Careful, or you will be labelled as a bot.

Wasn't there a documentary recently on Titled royal slum landlords . Seems to cross the spectrum.

That or far right….

Valuing "diversity" logically excludes far right views, and all others which oppose diversity. There's nothing ironic about it.

God these posts are so boring. Any views that don't align with yours = must equal Tory bot.

The info that Reform and Labour are neck and neck in the most recent poll is a fact. 25 points each, it's not some from of propaganda 🙄.

It's scary how much political delusion there is on MN

Bingo!

It's ridiculous and a lot of it is sealioning. You repeat the same thing over and over again to cookie cutter Reform voters.

Illegal immigrants, two tier Keir, toolmaker, Rachel from Accounts, Muslims, Musk, immigrants, terrified, I'm not far right you're far right...it's tiresome.

And my favourite one today: Google it. When asked for evidence. Google it. Haven't you heard of Google?

You sound like Donald Trump op. Anything you don't agree with is 'fake news'?

There is a poll showing labour and reform neck and neck.

A fine example of what the OP was talking about.

What poll? Neck and neck in what? Packets of crisps eaten per capita?

I haven't read into it as I don't really care tbh, but it does exist. A quick Google says the polling was done by Find Out Now. Other polls showing slightly different numbers, but still very healthy percentage gains for reform. I don't support reform by the way!

It is. For some reason pro Labour want only their views on this public site. There must be other Labour only sites for that where they can limit

Meanwhile polls, criticism and tankijg support is clear in public sentiment

OP I agree. Always ridiculous posts based on misinformation. Or they say, I have always voted Labour but...and them go on to slag off everything Labour has dome for decades for hours.

Diversity of thought is the most important kind. The other kinds of diversity, like race and sex, are to make sure that the thinkers aren't all white able-bodied men because experience tells us that they really cannot be trusted to think of everything.

Diversity of thought requires inclusion of viewpoints that we disagree with.

Why should I listen to all viewpoints? Andrew Tate? Paedophiles?
What a ridiculous principle

One of the biggest reasons for my continued engagement with Mumsnet is that I do like to hear different opinions. It's become very difficult to find a variety of viewpoints now, with algorithms and siloed groups forcing users into ever narrower enclaves.

For the same reason, I subscribe to emails from all the main UK political parties. It's more than a little noticeable that, whenever the Conservatives send a well-produced tirade about some aspect of the current government, Mumsnet fills up with indignant OPs saying the same thing. Over and over again.

I used to learn a lot from online news discussions. Now I'm mainly learning that all the parties have embraced 'astroturfing' like it's the key to world peace, the Conservatives have the best-organised (and paid) operatives, and Reform's shills make up in emotion what they lack in erudition. Also that Labour and the other parties are pretty bad at it. Momentum keeps its head above water, but see Reform only with better quotes.

I miss the horizon-expanding discussions I enjoyed so much. They're probably still here, but I can't be arsed to look for them between all the "Rachel Reeves Is Destroying the UK" simul-posts.

Depends on what the paedophile is having an opinion about. How to build a railway line? If the paedophile happens to be a civil engineer, we should probably listen to him. How to safeguard children? Actually, we probably should still listen, even if only for "what not to do". Also, remember that Pat Craven's Freedom Programme was informed by her decades of work in prisons with abusive men, getting inside their heads and finding out what motivates them and what they look for in a victim. Her listening to those violent abusers and writing up what she learned has saved women's lives. Listening to an imprisoned paedophile describe how he grooms parents and children and what he looks for in a victim allows us to use that information to protect children.

Likewise Tate: we are wise to listen to him and use that information to watch out for danger signs in boys and warn girls about red flags.

"Listen to" means "listen to". It doesn't mean "agree with". It doesn't mean "compromise with".

I don’t know and I am curious. Is it against Talk guidelines to name usernames?

I don't know if it is per se, but there were a lot of issues around this poster during the election, and when they were named the threads would get deleted.

This!

@selffellatingouroborosofhate listening to paedophiles so you can design programmes to better prevent them accessing children and to find them, is very different from listening to paedophiles on a chat forum.

Mumsnet is a chat forum. Not an academic research programme. So MN decide who can post their view here. And users can decide who they read and talk to, and who they scroll by and ignore.

I routinely scroll by people who post comments littered with misinformation. One fact wrong and I will point it out. But if posters are constantly doing this, my experience tells me they do not really care about the facts, just "their truth". And frankly life is too short.

One of the things I find frustrating is the assumption that view A - or wanting to talk about A- is actually code for staunch belief in ideas b-f.

‘Freedom of speech’ is being taken as a sign you’re dangerously far right.
Discussing issues with immigration- ditto.

And the media. I don’t watch or listen to any of the various news outlets or vloggers that are associated with conspiracy theories or extreme views. I’m aware they exist. Don’t read any particular newspaper. I’m still aware that some issues aren’t reported accurately, or at all by the BBC.
It’s not wrong to discuss that.

And obviously you won’t believe I’m not a Tory voter. I’m actually a homeless formerly SDLP, formerly Green voter.
Left leaning centrist. And shocked by the bile spewed about ordinary people who didn’t vote labour.

I’m not a lifelong voter of one particular party, in the last few elections I have voted Conservative, Green and Liberal Democrat (not necessarily in that order) so anyone thinking I am a die hard Labour fan is mistaken. I pride myself on educating myself of the various viewpoints and actual real information provided by the parties themselves, and media. I don’t put my head in the sand and I recognise what’s going on in the world.

i also understand social media is an echo chamber. Who we surround ourselves with, what things appear in front of us thanks to our algorithms, perpetuate what we believe and don’t always give ourselves a rounded world-view.

If I could be bothered I would go into the widely-reported and documented sustained campaign of misinformation that stems from R*ssia, something that began before Brexit (one of their successes to destabilise NATO and Europe generally), and the resulting fallout (Aron Banks, Farage, Musk etc). But I really don’t have energy. The sheer scale of misinformation nowadays is really concerning, and I’ve seen so many posts on here recently where a poster will throw a “Labour is crashing the economy” grenade and people who read these types of headlines take it as gospel. The Conservatives misreported their finances and didn’t mention a £21billion fiscal black hole as was reported by the OBR in Q4 of last year, and I’ve seen folk talk about it as Labour have spent £21billion 🤔🤔 The lack of education and increase of misinformation is frightening.