Press regulator IPSO has ruled that it is accurate to call mental Corbynista website Skwawkbox a purveyor of fake news. When the Mail and Sun reported on Skwawkbox’s infamous untrue claim that the government had issued a D-Notice over Grenfell, Skwawkbox editor Steve Walker complained to the press regulator insisting it is inaccurate to say his website spread fake news. IPSO has considered his complaint and concluded that Walker and Skwawkbox are indeed fake news merchants:

The complainant’s blog had reported claims made by third parties that a D-notice had been issued in relation to the Grenfell fire disaster. As these claims had proven to be untrue, it was not significantly misleading for the publication to have said that the complainant had “spread” “fake news”… the Committee also noted that the complainant had given significant weight to this claim in his blog. Indeed, the blog had strongly suggested that it was true: it had said “every instinct is screaming that [the claims are true]”. Given that the complainant had endorsed the credibility of the claims and had effectively adopted them, it was not significantly misleading for the publication to have said that the complainant had “reported” that the government had issued a D-notice.

Worth reading the judgement in all its glory. It’s official…