• Disrupting Power Since 2015
  • Donate
  • Login
Thursday, May 15, 2025
  • Login
  • Register
Canary
MEDIA THAT DISRUPTS
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
MANAGE SUBSCRIPTION
SUPPORT
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
Canary
No Result
View All Result

A parody account mocked the dire state of the UK press so successfully Twitter has suspended it

Kerry-Anne Mendoza by Kerry-Anne Mendoza
19 June 2022
in Trending, UK
Reading Time: 2 mins read
170 2
A A
0
Home Trending
321
SHARES
2.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A parody account has mocked the dire state of the UK press so successfully that Twitter has suspended it. The bizarre decision came amid a wave of outcry from UK journalists who found the unflattering portrayal too much to bear. The suspension has only served to highlight the increasing lack of accountability of the UK media. After all, even feudal monarchs tolerated the court jester.

Max Gapes

Maximilian Gapes was a parody Twitter account mercilessly ribbing the centrist pundits of our time. ‘He’ made waves with a satirical tweet about Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson. The tweet reported the claim of an unnamed source that Swinson’s campaign had been so catastrophic she might stand down before the general election. ‘Gapes’ not only poked fun at the former braggadocio of the Lib Dem leader, but also the mainstream press. It’s become commonplace for pundits to cite unnamed sources with the most tenuous claims against Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the left in general.

Max Gapes tweet

Neither group saw the funny side. Instead, they went into a fit of the conniptions, branding the account a purveyor of fake news. And by Thursday 5 December, Twitter suspended the account.

Max Gapes suspended

Double standards

The action led many people to question Twitter’s suspension policy. The platform shut down a parody account satirising fake news, yet leaves in place the accounts of the fake news producing pundits being satirised.

That Max Gapes tweet is going far and wide – probably because its entirely believable. Seeing that it's entered the world of blue ticks, surely the ban hammer will be out soon? Anyway, fantastic work from everyone in the St Petersburg troll factory.

— From Russia With Lua (@phljns) December 5, 2019

https://twitter.com/josephcorcoran/status/1202579862457851904?s=20

https://twitter.com/jimwaterson/status/1202569506763235330?s=20

In the past four years, the British press seems to have become increasingly unmoored from reality. Pundits have declared Jeremy Corbyn everything from a communist spy, to an “existential threat” to British Jews. And the Liberal Democrats are also on dodgy ground when it comes to fake news.

The party has misled voters several times during this election. First, it claimed Tory / Labour marginals were actually Lib Dem / Tory marginals in an effort to gain votes. Then, it disguised its own campaign literature as local newspapers. And, most disturbingly, the party was forced to suspend its head of media for faking an email to openDemocracy to prevent the site publishing a scandal-generating story.

While independent media has worked to debunk each piece of fake news, the Twitter accounts of the pundits spreading it remain live. Yet a parody account with 2,000 followers is deemed too dangerous to democracy to exist? Come on.

Featured image via Flickr – Alex Proimos

Share128Tweet80
Previous Post

One statement from Jeremy Corbyn shows exactly why we need him as our prime minister

Next Post

Watch Angela Rayner treat the ‘Corbyn Queen speech’ distraction with the contempt it deserves

Next Post
Angela Rayner on Good Morning Britain

Watch Angela Rayner treat the ‘Corbyn Queen speech’ distraction with the contempt it deserves

Jeremy Corbyn

Jeremy Corbyn makes a stunning proposal that could fix British politics for good

Norwich skyline

I’m knocking on doors in my city and I’m not hearing much talk about Brexit

Former Tory PM backs ex-Tory ministers running against Conservatives

IWGB Kitchen Porters to Strike At 5 Hertford Street in Mayfair

Workers at 'Brexit HQ' elite Mayfair club to go on strike

Please login to join discussion
The British Museum just held an event with the Israeli embassy - and the Met police responded by repressing Palestine protesters
News

British Museum holds event with the Israeli embassy – so Met Police respond by repressing Palestine protesters

by The Canary
14 May 2025
EXPOSED: the public is paying for Keir Starmer's in-laws to live virtually rent-free in London
Analysis

EXPOSED: the public is paying for Keir Starmer’s in-laws to live virtually rent-free in London

by Ed Sykes
14 May 2025
People are coming together on 7 June to oppose Labour's DWP benefit cuts
News

People are coming together on 7 June to oppose Labour’s DWP benefit cuts

by The Canary
14 May 2025
Keir Starmer's 'Island of Strangers' speech: channeling the racist rhetoric of Enoch Powell
Opinion

Is Keir Starmer capable of killing?

by Jamie Driscoll
14 May 2025
As an ACTUAL GENOCIDE continues, its apologists come for Gary Lineker over an emoji
Opinion

As an ACTUAL GENOCIDE continues, its apologists come for Gary Lineker over an emoji

by Ed Sykes
14 May 2025
  • Contact
  • About & FAQ
  • Get our Daily News Email
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

The Canary
PO Box 71199
LONDON
SE20 9EX

Canary Media Ltd – registered in England. Company registration number 09788095.

For guest posting, contact [email protected]

For other enquiries, contact: [email protected]

The Canary is owned and run by independent journalists and volunteers, NOT offshore billionaires.

You can write for us, or support us by making a regular or one-off donation.

© Canary Media Ltd 2024, all rights reserved | Website by Monster | Hosted by Krystal | Privacy Settings

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion

© 2023 Canary - Worker's co-op.

Before you go, have you seen...?

The British Museum just held an event with the Israeli embassy - and the Met police responded by repressing Palestine protesters
News
The Canary

British Museum holds event with the Israeli embassy – so Met Police respond by repressing Palestine protesters

EXPOSED: the public is paying for Keir Starmer's in-laws to live virtually rent-free in London
Analysis
Ed Sykes

EXPOSED: the public is paying for Keir Starmer’s in-laws to live virtually rent-free in London

People are coming together on 7 June to oppose Labour's DWP benefit cuts
News
The Canary

People are coming together on 7 June to oppose Labour’s DWP benefit cuts

Keir Starmer's 'Island of Strangers' speech: channeling the racist rhetoric of Enoch Powell
Opinion
Jamie Driscoll

Is Keir Starmer capable of killing?

ADVERTISEMENT
Business
Nathan Spears

When digital isn’t enough: why paper still matters in modern business

Tech
Nathan Spears

How Digital Addictions Are Formed in the Shadow of Large Platforms

Lifestyle
Nathan Spears

Recovery in the Sun: How the Canary Islands are Becoming a Wellness Tourism Hub