A victory against fake news:




Interesting to read above about a case of Labour-inspired "fake news" being disproved.

Sadly there is still plenty of "fake news" around and we all need to be much more careful to check things before we share them.

The late Bob Monkhouse used to tell a joke to the effect that the only time politicians tell the truth is when they are calling each other liars.

It's very funny line but in my experience was the exact opposite of reality. Most people involved in politics tell the truth most of the time, but the greatest scepticism is called for when they are talking about their opponents.

If I had been writing this a couple of years ago I would have said that most people involved in politics tell the truth nearly all the time, except when talking about their opponents. Whether it is people foolishly repeating untrue stories which they assume to be true, or that people are not as bothered about getting their facts right as they used to be, I think there has been a noticeable decline in the accuracy of statements about politics over the last two or three years.

 It would be fair to say that there are too many people in all political parties who are, putting this very politely, not careful enough to get their facts right when speaking about their opponents.

I think we all need to check the things we are told more carefully rather than take them on trust.

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