Twitter moves to suspend account which claimed Jo Swinson is about to resign
Max Gapes' Twitter account. Photograph: Twitter. - Credit: Archant
Twitter has shut down an account which claimed that Jo Swinson was on the verge of resigning before election day to focus more on her own seat.
Thousands of users have been sharing reports from "Max Gapes", a Twitter user who had originally claimed to be a journalist.
He had excited left-wing tweeters by bringing "scoops" with stories they hoped would take votes away from the anti-Brexit party.
He claimed the Tories had been approached by the Lib Dems to discuss a coalition in the event of a hung parliament, and that party leader Jo Swinson was preparing to resign to soften the blow of an election defeat.
Gapes reported that Lib Dem sources had branded it a "worse campaign than Theresa May's in 2017".
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The Twitter account claimed that Swinson was to focus on her own constituency seat instead, which she was "worried" of losing due to tactical voting.
Some of Gapes' Twitter threads had been retweeted and liked thousands of times - convincing journalists and politicians.
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