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Theresa May has told parliament that former Tory MP Byron Davies lost his Gower seat in Wales due to a tweet that was shared ten times and liked seven times, despite insisting thousands of fake news tweets did not affect the referendum outcome one iota.
Davies sought damages from the Tweeter in question, insisting his fake claims about an electoral commission investigation were the sole reason he lost his seat, a claim backed up by the prime minister.
She told the house, “We have seen a youth campaigner using dangerous fake news tweets to subvert the democratic process and to willfully undermine the will of the people. This is unacceptable, and we will not stand for it.
“This young man’s tweet was shared ten times and liked by seven people – do you have any idea of the reach and impact this could have had amongst the voting public? It draws the entire Gower election into question.
“But this is very different to the Brexit referendum where it has been proven that thousands of fake news tweets reached millions of people – the main reason for that difference being that this is a Tory MP who lost out.
“The fake news that spread during the referendum campaign will have had no discernable impact on the decision of this nation, a decision which I will continue to enact – but that single tweet and it’s seven retweets are clearly the primary cause of my former colleague losing his seat.
“And yes, I would definitely be making this claim if my majority wasn’t razor thin and I wasn’t under constant pressure from the opposition. Yes I would, shut up.”
