We are delighted to be working with Full Fact in the run up to the various 2024 elections in the UK.
Their latest Report has just been published and has lots of sensible recommendations including “the next government should legislate to end deceptive campaign practices” and to “introduce independent regulation of political advertising”.
In the report they state:
“Parties should agree to independent regulation of political advertising
When reviewing a selection of political advertising from the 2019 general election campaign, the campaign group Reform Political Advertising found multiple instances of misleading or exaggerated claims. Furthermore, their report on the 2022 local elections, for which Full Fact formed part of their Election Advertising Review Panel, observed an “alarming amount of grossly misleading election advertising from all main parties”. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ceased to oversee most political advertising in 1999. Since then, political advertising “where the principal function is to influence voters in a local, regional, national or international election or referendum” has been exempt from the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (CAP Code). This has allowed significant misinformation in advertising to go unchecked, for example on Facebook, as we found during the 2019 election.
Political ads should be subject to the same standards of factual accuracy and evidence to which other advertising must adhere. Without the ASA having oversight, parties must commit to the creation of a new independent regulator specifically focused on political ads.
Full Fact is not alone in making this call, nor is this unprecedented. A regulatory system has been introduced in New Zealand, and others such as Reform Political Advertising, and the Neill Committee as long ago as 1998, have made similar suggestions in the UK.”
You can read the full report here.
……………………………………