June 12, 2017updated 07 Nov 2023 5:58am

General election: Only five out of top 100 most-shared stories on social media were pro-Tory

Final figures for the most-shared stories on social media during the general election campaign show that anti-Tory articles dominated.

Although satirical stories feature, there are no fake news stories in the most-shared list – suggesting this was not a factor in the election.

The findings suggest that social media (mainly Facebook) acted as a counterbalance to printed newspapers.

Market-leading dailies The Sun, Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph were all staunchly pro Conservative throughout the campaign (as was the Daily Express).

Press Gazette searched the Buzzsumo database using the words “general election” for the top 100 most-shared stories from 18 April to 8 June.

According to our judgement, 45 were anti-Tory/pro-Labour, 46 were neutral (including all poll results stories) and five were pro-Tory. The remaining four were judged to be not relevant.

Left-leaning titles The Independent, Mirror, Guardian and HuffPo published 52 of the top 100 most shared articles.

Left-wing websites offering an alternative slant on the news – The Canary, Skwakbox and The London Economic – have six articles in the top 100 most-shared list.

The Canary claimed more viral stories in the top 100 than the Daily Mail, Telegraph and Express. It featured four times, while they appeared just once each.

The Canary’s most-shared article on the general election was headlined: “NHS workers have spoken. The general election is our only chance of saving the health service [TWEETS].” It had a total of 63,500 shares.

There are no pro-Conservative stories in the top 20 most-shared list, according to Buzzsumo’s data.

The figures relate to the most shared stories across five social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest.

The most-shared story of the election campaign remains that of populist alternative news website The London Economic, headlined: “This Facebook comment about Jeremy Corbyn is going viral.”

It repeats a Facebook comment by Chris Renwick which pours scorn on the portrayal of Jeremy Corbyn by “the media arm of the establishment” and had a total of 142,600 shares.

The Independent appears 21 times within the top 100 – the most of any news organisation – the Guardian 17 times and the BBC 14 times. The Standard, Express, Telegraph and Daily Mail appear just once each.

The Sun does not feature at all in the top-100 list and The Times features once (at 100).

Satirical news stories appear four times in the top 100, of which two place in the top 10 with nearly 100,000 combined shares.

Top 20 most shared articles relating to “general election” on social media spanning 18 April to 8 June (source: Buzzsumo):

#	Headline	Publication	Date	Facebook shares	Twitter shares	Total shares on social media
1	This Facebook comment about Jeremy Corbyn is going viral	thelondoneconomic.com	May 31, 2017	136,800	5,600	142,600
2	Green Party pulls out of crucial general election seat to help Labour beat Tories	independent.co.uk	Apr 25, 2017	75,600	802	76,400
3	Stop the Tories – Infogram, charts & infographics	infogr.am	Apr 18, 2017	68,900	413	69,300
4	If ever there was a time to vote Labour, it is now	theguardian.com	Apr 25, 2017	63,500	4,500	68,200
5	Labour will scrap university tuition fees if they win general election	independent.co.uk	May 10, 2017	53,600	12,800	66,500
6	NHS workers have spoken. The general election is our only chance of saving the health service [TWEETS]	thecanary.co	Apr 24, 2017	61,900	1,600	63,500
7	EU leader: UK would be welcomed back if voters overturn Brexit	theguardian.com	Apr 20, 2017	52,100	6,800	59,400
8	Can’t be bothered to vote? If you’re young, you simply can’t afford not to	theguardian.com	Apr 30, 2017	52,000	3,700	55,800
9	UK hasn’t done enough to tackle terrorism, says woman whose job it was to tackle terrorism	newsthump.com	Jun 5, 2017	48,800	1,800	50,700
10	Diane Abbott to replace Rachel Riley on Countdown	southendnewsnetwork.com	Jun 6, 2017	48,800	143	48,900
11	Labour slashes Tory lead to just five points in latest poll taken this week	independent.co.uk	May 25, 2017	43,600	1,900	45,500
12	Election poll shows Labour is ahead in the UK general election	wired.co.uk	Jun 7, 2017	42,300	2,900	45,300
13	Labour and Lib Dems reject Greens’ call for electoral pact against Tories	theguardian.com	Apr 19, 2017	41,900	3,100	45,100
14	Young people, here’s what no one is telling you about the general election: you could swing it	independent.co.uk	May 12, 2017	41,800	1,700	43,600
15	General election 2017: Campaigning continues	bbc.co.uk	Apr 18, 2017	20,600	22,300	43,500
16	Professor Stephen Hawking backs Labour in general election because Tories would be a ‘disaster for NHS and police’	mirror.co.uk	Jun 5, 2017	33,700	9,400	43,100
17	Why should I not vote Conservative? 29 nasty policies you shouldn’t forget in the 2017 general election	mirror.co.uk	Apr 28, 2017	38,700	3,500	42,200
18	Theresa May to seek general election on 8 June	bbc.co.uk	Apr 18, 2017	31,200	9,000	41,700
19	General election 2017: Two million apply to register to vote	bbc.co.uk	May 20, 2017	36,700	4,800	41,600
20	Dennis Skinner: Theresa May called an election because of Tory fraud investigation	inews.co.uk	Apr 20, 2017	38,100	1,600	39,600