500 signatures reached
To: UK Government
Political Campaign Claims to be Independently Fact Checked before Use
Make it a legal requirement that all claims made for the purposes of an election or referendum must be independently fact-checked or peer-reviewed by Academic institutions before they can be publicly shared.
Failure to observe the requirement should incur substantial, punitive, consequences proportionate to the level of financial backing available to the principal Party, or in the case of an independent the individual.
Deliberate flouting of the requirement should disqualify the individual(s) from standing in that election and ban them from holding public office for 6 years.
Think tanks, media organizations, and lobby groups cannot be used for verification
Why is this important?
The EU referendum was a disgrace, both sides exaggerated and misled despite the particularly serious nature of the decision. Moreover, the Leave campaign was founded almost entirely on deliberate misrepresentation and creating imaginary fears.
Democracy can only work with fair and accurate information and must not be reduced to who has the best marketing and manipulation strategies.
