June 2, 2017

Pro-Labour stories were most shared on social media in last week with alternative news website topping chart

The most shared news story about the UK general election on social media over the past week is an article by an alternative news website reporting on a “viral” pro-Labour Facebook post, new data shows.

The story is headlined: “This Facebook comment about Jeremy Corbyn is going viral,” and has been shared a total of 57,300 times across five social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest and Google+).

On Facebook alone the story has been shared 54,500 times – and 2,700 times on Twitter.

It is published by The London Economic, which describes itself as a “non-profit newspaper run by volunteers and contributors” founded in 2012.

It repeats a Facebook comment by Chris Renwick which pours scorn on the portrayal of Jeremy Corbyn by “the media arm of the establishment”.

It says: “We’ve waited forever for an honest politician to come along but instead of getting behind him we bow to the establishment like good little workers. They whistle and we do a little dance for them. We run around like hypnotised robots repeating headlines we’ve read, all nodding and agreeing.”

The story topped Buzzsumo data revealing the most shared online articles relating to the “general election” over the past seven days, which have been analysed by Press Gazette for their political leaning.

Last month Press Gazette used Buzzsumo data under the same search terms covering a month since the snap general election was called.

That found the most shared news stories about the general election on social media were overwhelmingly anti-Tory with the Independent claiming the highest number of shares of any title.

This new analysis comes less than a week before polling day on 8 June.

Of the top 20 most shared articles over the past week, a considerably larger number were pro-Labour/anti-Tory in sentiment than were pro-Tory. The majority were neutral.

In total, Press Gazette’s assessment of the political leanings of the top 20 stories broke down as follows:

Nine neutral
Eight pro-Labour/anti-Tory
Two pro-Tory
One pro-Green

Stories about polling results were deemed neutral, though within the top 20 they all reported on Labour gains. The top three most shared stories were all deemed pro-Labour/anti-Tory.

The second most shared was a story by the Daily Mirror headlined: “Why should I not vote Conservative? 29 nasty policies you shouldn’t forget in the 2017 general election,” with a total of 38,300 shares.

The third most shared was also by the Daily Mirror and headlined: “Tory Michael Fallon slates ‘Jeremy Corbyn quote’ live on air – then realises they were Boris Johnson’s words,” and was shared 31,200 times.

The Mirror was the most featured title in the top 20, appearing five times. The Independent featured four times.

More than half of the stories in the top 20 were published by newspapers associated with the left, including the Daily Mirror, Guardian and Independent.

The most shared article on Twitter, with 20,800 shares, was the BBC’s “General election latest” which is a daily live blog.

None of the twenty most shared stories were fake news (defined as bogus stories manufactured for financial or political gain).

Top 20 most shared articles under “general election” search covering seven days to 2 June (data by Buzzsumo):

#	Headline	Publication	Facebook shares	Twitter shares	Total shares	Political analysis
1	This Facebook comment about Jeremy Corbyn is going viral	thelondoneconomic.com	54,500	2,700	57,300	pro-Labour/anti-Tory
2	Why should I not vote Conservative? 29 nasty policies you shouldn’t forget in the 2017 general election	mirror.co.uk	38,300	32	38,300	pro-Labour/anti-Tory
3	Tory Michael Fallon slates ‘Jeremy Corbyn quote’ live on air	mirror.co.uk	28,700	2,500	31,200	pro-Labour/anti-Tory
4	Amber Rudd to represent Tories in BBC general election debate	theguardian.com	22,200	6,000	28,200	neutral
5	General election latest	bbc.co.uk	5,100	20,800	25,900	neutral
6	General election: Labour close gap on Tories to six points, new poll show	independent.co.uk	24,900	534	25,500	neutral
7	UK General Election polls: Jeremy Corbyn in shock surge as Labour leader now more popular than Theresa May in London	standard.co.uk	21,400	2,100	23,500	neutral
8	Theresa May backs plan to sell off ‘underused’ NHS assets to property developers	independent.co.uk	12,600	6,600	19,200	pro-Labour/anti-Tory
9	The signs are there – is Jeremy Corbyn going to win the general election?	nme.com	18,900	176	19,100	pro-Labour/anti-Tory
10	General election poll: Jeremy Corbyn surges ahead of Theresa May in London	independent.co.uk	16,400	2,200	18,600	neutral
11	Poll firm predicts shock losses for Theresa May’s Tories at general election	thetimes.co.uk	15,400	509	15,900	neutral
12	Theresa May losing the general election would be good for the pound, says JP Morgan	independent.co.uk	12,500	2,900	15,400	pro-Labour/anti-Tory
13	Europe will ‘postpone crunch Brexit talks’ if Jeremy Corbyn wins keys to Downing Street in general election	mirror.co.uk	8,800	812	9,600	neutral
14	Russell Brand endorses Jeremy Corbyn as he backs Labour in General Election	standard.co.uk	8,200	80	8,300	pro-Labour/anti-Tory
15	Fake news! Tories have said all these things in the general election campaign	mirror.co.uk	6,100	1,900	8,000	pro-Labour/anti-Tory
16	In praise of Caroline Lucas: a shining light this election	inews.co.uk	7,200	202	7,400	pro-Green
17	General Election 2017 Latest Polls Confirm Jeremy Corbyn Closing Gap On Theresa May	huffingtonpost.co.uk	6,900	232	7,200	neutral
18	Theresa May’s ‘strong’ handling of the terror crisis has put her back on track for a strong lead in General Election, poll reveals	thesun.co.uk	6,900	197	7,100	pro-Tory
19	General Election: Farage urges BBC to sack chiefs for ‘biased’ debate	express.co.uk	6,000	702	6,700	Pro-Tory
20	Shock poll claims Tories could LOSE seats and fail to win a majority in the 2017 general election	mirror.co.uk	6,100	587	6,700	neutral