Fake tweet reaches millions in less than 12 hours

A fake story tweeted by comedian Katherine Ryan reached 134 million people in less than 12 hours, according to research from Meltwater.

Ryan’s tweet stating she had had a bum enlargement – posted on 2 February – also generated 25 news articles which reported the tweet as ‘fact’.

Ryan, who has 231,000 followers, eventually revealed it was a stunt leading up to Channel 4’s Fake News Week.

However, Heidi Myers, Meltwater’s marketing director, said that out of the 134 million readers “many may not have seen the correction”, and that the reach of Ryan’s story underlines the importance of monitoring digital content.

“Companies and public figures need to have their finger on the pulse when it comes to knowing what is being said about them, particularly online, as conversation out in the open – whether legitimate or fake – can quickly impact their image,” Myers said.

According to a Channel 4 study, less than one in 20 British adults can correctly identify all true or fake news stories from a selection of six. The survey also found that those who use Facebook as their primary source of news are less likely to be able to tell the difference.