FactcheckUK: How Twitter’s rules let Tories convincingly rebrand as fact checkers

The Conservatives have been attacked over a trick that saw them rebrand as supposed fact-checkers on Twitter and then use that account to post anti-Labour propaganda.

The strange plot has been criticised as "misleading" and "dystopian" and comes amid increasing concern about trust and truth in the general election campaign, particularly on social media.

The change was made at the beginning of a televised debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn. The account was used throughout the debate to attack Mr Corbyn and his party and endorse Mr Johnson and the Conservatives, occasionally using the language of fact-checking but often simply sharing straightforward political posts.

The Tories used the account to remove the branding most associated with the party, and so potentially give the impression that it was not being run by one of the parties involved in the debate – as it was – but instead an independent organisation that was using its account to check facts without bias.