Jacob Rees-Mogg
(Picture: PA Wire)A GB News parody account has been suspended from Twitter after posting a fake viral tweet about Jacob Rees-Mogg.
The account - with the handle ‘@GBNews_UK’ – tweeted a spoof news story claiming that a lorry carrying £20,000 of oysters and champagne to Mr Rees-Mogg’s house was stuck in traffic due to travel chaos in Dover.
Oh dear pic.twitter.com/R1cNAtr0GV
— ciaran the euro courier 🇪🇺🇮🇪 (@vanmaneuro) July 25, 2022
The tweet read: “A lorry with £20,000 worth of perishable food destined for Jacob Rees-Mogg’s Somerset mansion is stuck in queues at Calais, according to a source.
“The luxury food haul – including seafood, oysters, saucisson & champagne – was for Rees-Mogg’s summer party today, but now won’t arrive.”
The tweet amassed thousands of likes and retweets despite several users pointing out that it was peddling false information.
Have just deleted a tweet which I had retweeted from an account which looked like it was GB News, but wasn’t. Thanks for flagging this guys!
— Dr Julia Grace Patterson💙 (@JujuliaGrace) July 25, 2022
Anyone who visits the account is now met with the message: “Account suspended. Twitter suspends accounts that violate the Twitter Rules.”
Dr Julia Grace Patterson, Chief Executive of pressure group EveryDoctor UK, wrote: “Have just deleted a tweet which I had retweeted from an account which looked like it was GB News, but wasn’t. Thanks for flagging this guys!”
In response, one user said: “I know the tweet, and the fact that it was even slightly believable in the first place is a damning indictment of where we are.”
