There is no publicly available evidence to support the high-profile social media claim that the Department of Health and Social Care (or a marketing firm linked to them) was running a network of fake Twitter accounts created to post pro-government messages.
The originator of the claim says that he has identified a network of 128 Twitter accounts, largely impersonating NHS staff members, sharing pro-government messages.
At the time of writing, we are only aware of one account that has been publicly identified. That account has since been deleted and there is as yet no public evidence it has any connection to the DHSC.
We asked the individual who made the claim to share his evidence, but he told us that he is not ready to do so at this time.
People who make claims in public debate should be able to back them up, so that everyone is able to judge for themselves. We would urge the author of the posts to share any evidence he has as a matter of urgency, given the gravity of the claims.
As we’ve written before, when trying to judge claims that you see on social media, it’s important to ask what the evidence behind the claim is.
If it is not shown, then it is best to wait for (or ask for) that evidence before sharing the claim.
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