The ‘Fake’ election: lessons for
journalism and politics from
#GE2017
Professor Charlie Beckett
@CharlieBeckett
Madrid
June 2017

Result – May ’lost’, Corbyn ‘won’

Taking control of the message

Stage-management

Behind the scenes

Journalist push-back

Policy u-turns mid-campaign

Corbyn stage-managed

Getting crowded

Remind you of someone?

Be seen to debate

Mainstream media hostile and deluded

Using social media to counter MSM

Positive videos, positive SM results

Using social media to counter MSM

Negative less shared than positive, online

We were warned (and ignored it)

‘The campaign doesn’t change anything’

She ‘messed up’ but ‘won’

In the end it was about politics
• Brexit not an issue – not debated – anti-austerity and anti-authority played
• Campaign did matter and Corbyn ‘won it’ – built base – echo chamber
mobilised support
• May ran sterile campaign and u-turns blew competence claim
• But record Conservative vote – just down on early opinion polls
• High turnout – especially young but also 35-45 yos – divisive result
• UKIP split to Labour and Conservatives
• Main two parties still dominated
• Labour’s ‘Radical’ ideas were actually moderate/transactional
• The more they saw of Corbyn the more they liked him

What did UK media get wrong?
• Too reliant on polls – easy journalism
• Too partisan (even the Left)
• Not diverse enough (Oxbridge, PPE, London)
• Didn’t get out of the newsroom enough
• Didn’t get off Twitter enough
• Didn’t listen enough

Further reading:
• How should we report elections?
• http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/polis/2017/06/10/how-we-report-elections-a-
new-agenda-after-the-2017-shock/
• This was a fake politics election
• http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/polis/2017/06/07/never-mind-fake-news-this-
was-the-fake-politics-election/
• Liberalism Trumped – it’s time to listen to the angry mob
• http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/polis/2016/06/09/liberalism-trumped-its-time-
to-listen-to-the-angry-mob/