The Guardian reports that Labour Deputy Leader, Lucy Powell has accused Reform UK of destabilising British democracy by spreading divisive material that is being amplified by bots and troll farms.
In an echo of an essay by Oliver Bullough on Byline Times, which I blogged on earlier this month, the paper says that Lucy Powell has called for tighter laws on social media giants to tackle misinformation, arguing the online space was “open to wealthy individuals, and bad state actors”:
She also highlighted the multimillion-pound donations that have bolstered Reform’s election war chest and “fund their powerful online campaigns”.
Arguing Nigel Farage and his party posed a threat to democracy, she said the law should be strengthened to “tackle the scourge of dis- and misinformation which is ripping communities apart and undermining us all”.
She said Reform’s “exploitation of online algorithms on social media sites is well documented”, as was the way the party had benefited from “bots and troll farms to amplify support”.
The need to deal with this problem is getting more and more urgent.

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