Fake social media posts being spread stating that Reform UK has won the Caerphilly by-election
Martin Shipton
Fake messages have been posted on social media stating that the Caerphilly by-election has been won by Reform UK while local people are still voting.
The messages on Facebook purport to come from Google and state: “Caerphilly by-election result. Reform UK has defeated Labour in a Senedd by-election.”
The fake announcement follows an increase in online abuse and misinformation in recent days.
‘Online abuse’
Yuliia Bond, a prominent member of Caerphilly’s Ukrainian community who has campaigned against Reform’s misinformation about the Welsh Government’s Nation of Sanctuary programme, most of which has been spent on resettling Ukrainian refugees, and not on asylum seekers as claimed persistently by Reform, wrote on Facebook: “I’ve been hit hard lately by waves of online abuse – comments, messages, even coordinated attacks that no normal person could send at that speed or volume. Let’s be honest: these are bots, or people being paid to harass and intimidate anyone who speaks up.
“This isn’t just random trolling – it’s organised online bullying. It’s meant to silence voices, distort conversations, and make people too tired or scared to keep going.
“Someone I know said it perfectly: this is systematic harassment. And the fact that social media giants allow it to happen – even profit from it – is disgraceful.
“To make things worse, we’re now seeing fake alerts and misinformation being pushed out – like a ‘news update’ claiming they had already won the Caerphilly by-election before voting even started. That’s not just wrong – it’s dangerous. It shows exactly how manipulation spreads through algorithms and unchecked AI systems.
Targeting
She added: “I’ve even had to permanently close my LinkedIn because of the constant targeting. That’s how bad it’s gotten.
“But let me be clear – I’m not backing down.
“We must call this out for what it is: political interference, intimidation, and social manipulation on a massive scale. It’s time we demanded accountability from the tech giants and stopped letting them hide behind algorithms and excuses.
“We deserve online spaces built on truth, respect, and transparency – not lies, bots, and bullying.
“If you’ve seen anything similar – fake alerts, weird comments, or suspicious accounts – please share it. The more we expose this, the harder it becomes for them to hide.”
Others have suggested that the messages could dissuade people from going to polling stations to cast their vote.
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This needs to be reported to the returning officer – and the police. There might be grounds to hold the ballot again if it can be shown this disinfo may have affected the result. But on a wider note what people like yulyia have experienced online recently will be magnified across Wales a hundred fold in the Senedd elections next May. And its because successive british govts have failed to take seriously the very real threat of external actors – almost certainly operating from russia – using scores of fake online accounts to try and manipulate the outcome of elections… Read more »
How can this effect the result?
If you believe this you believe the election is over and thus you’ve run out of time to vote.
It’s electoral interference, even if it impacts a small number of voters it could have a huge impact on what is projected to be a very close result.
The fact that Reform are polling so highly shows it can’t be taken for granted that some voters will fall for tactics such as this.
If it wasnt intended to affect the result whoever is behind this fake news wouldnt have put it out.
This is interference in the electoral process and those, both behind it and spreading it need to be prosecuted.
True, but it won’t happen. Even when these guys get prosecuted, it barely gets any media coverage.
I suspect russian interference helping Reform
This seems to be normal behaviour now from these deformed individuals. And they will get away with it and while it may be fake news now, it won’t be fake news for long. These guys have too much money, media and anyone who could make a difference can’t be bothered to vote.
Highly irregular. Another shady tactic used by Reform UK to manipulate the voters of Caerphilly.
It’s not a lie if it’s true. The Labour Party is done in Wales.
It’s not about Labour losing it’s about claiming Reform has won. It’s about conning people into not going out to vote.
Spoiler alert: Reform didn’t win.
I wonder how many Reform voters in Caerphilly saw this and decided to stay at home?
Reform lost so happy about that