Mr McCartney repeatedly Retweeted an article from UnHerd, a British news website, which claims that a single section of the U.K. population – progressive activists – has a disproportionate sway on national conversation.
The article in question is titled ‘Who are the real tribes of Britain?’ and uses real data from a report by More in Common, a not-for-profit which says its aim is “to address the underlying drivers of fracturing and polarization” [sic] in society.
The report, titled ‘Britain’s Choice’, places the British population into seven groups, based on their values: progressive activists, civic pragmatists, disengaged battlers, established liberals, loyal nationals, disengaged traditionalists and backbone conservatives.
In the UnHerd article, it claims that ‘progressive activists’, the outliers on a question of political correctness, have a “disproportionate impact on the national conversation”.
We’ve rated this partially true, as the data to support the claim is verifiable, though the article may reach a little further than the data does. In the Britain’s Choice report, ‘progressive activists’, making up 13% of the population, are found to be far more prone to sharing political content online than the other groups. Unlike the other six groups, they are also more likely to disagree that political correctness is a problem.
Source: More in Common 2020.
The report doesn’t offer any data as to the effect of the political content shared on social media.
Of course, social media is not the only driver of national discussion – and some social media networks are popular with those who hold more conservative views.
It’s also worth noting the irony of the UnHerd article discussing this data in a combative, wary tone, when the original report was created with the intention of bringing the U.K. together, not dividing us further.
Fact Check: Karl McCartney 