Boris Johnson’s party shares misleading video

A misleading video posted online by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party Tuesday highlights the challenges voters face as they try to discern fact from fiction in the lead-up to the United Kingdom’s historic December election.

The video made a spokesperson from the rival Labour Party appear unable to explain his party’s Brexit policy, and came as Facebook faces increasing scrutiny for its unwillingness to fact-check political ads on its platform.

Jack Dorsey, co-founder and chief executive officer of Twitter Inc., leave for a break during the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have increased pressure on technology companies on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign and other election meddling as well as issues including alleged anti-conservative bias and antitrust questions. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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On Tuesday, Conservatives posted on both Twitter and Facebook an edited clip of an interview from the television show Good Morning Britain, that appeared to show Labour’s Brexit spokesperson Keir Starmer faltering for words and unable to answer a question from the show’s host Piers Morgan.

In reality, Starmer answered the question immediately in the live interview, BBC journalist Daniel Sandford pointed out on Twitter and Morgan confirmed.

“So this happened,” Sandford tweeted. “They edited it to add on the last shot in which Keir Starmer looks stumped. But that didn’t happen.

Morgan himself then replied to Sandford, agreeing with the BBC reporter and adding, “The way this has been edited is misleading and unfair to Keir Starmer.”

Several hours later, the Conservative Party’s Press Office retweeted an unedited version of the interview from the Good Morning Britain account, noting that “there have been some enquiries about the veracity of Keir Starmer’s interview this morning.”

But it did not acknowledge the discrepancy between the party’s edited version of the interview and the real thing.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg leaving The Merrion Hotel in Dublin with as its head of global policy and communications Nick Clegg after a meeting with politicians to discuss regulation of social media and harmful content. (Photo by Niall Carson/PA Images via Getty Images)

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The Conservative Party did not respond to CNN’s request for an explanation. Its original tweet was still online two hours after it tweeted the more accurate video. The party also retweeted at least half a dozen other people, including at least one government minister, who had shared the misleading video.

CNN has reached out to Keir Starmer’s office for comment.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street for his second PMQs at the House of Commons since taking office in July on 23 October, 2019 in London, England. Yesterday, MPs approved the second reading of the European Union Withdrawal Agreement but rejected the government's fast-track Brexit bill timetable forcing Prime Minister Boris Johnson to pause the legislation process and wait for the EU's decision on granting an extension. (Photo by WIktor Szymanowicz/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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Facebook confirmed to CNN last week that a controversial policy allowing politicians to run false ads on its platform would also apply to political parties in Britain and the thousands of candidates running in the country’s December 12th election.

It did not appear Tuesday that the Starmer post ran as an ad on Facebook — but had the Conservatives tried to amplify the video through its ad platform, it likely would have been approved.

Damian Collins, a Conservative member of Parliament who has been spearheading parliamentary hearings on Facebook, told CNN Friday: “People shouldn’t be able to spread disinformation during election campaigns just because they are paying Facebook to do so.”

The same policy in the United States has prompted outcry from the Democratic Party, Congress, and even some of Facebook’s own employees.