A leading fact checking expert has warned disinformation campaigns could pose a “real threat” to future votes after the SNP launched a “national information service” as part of its new independence taskforce.
Fergus Bell, CEO of the London-based media consultancy firm fathm, has worked on elections around the world and said false information shared online has been “very successful” in swaying voters in recent years.
The SNP announced on Sunday it will launch an independence taskforce to work out of its Edinburgh headquarters, including a new service “to assist people in making an informed decision” on an independent Scotland.
The objective of the group will be to lay the foundations of a new independence campaign ahead of the Scottish Parliament elections in May but the party failed to respond to questions on how the information service will operate.
