Digital Dynamics: Toolmakers, Treats, and Trends at the Sky News Election Event

General Election: From Craftsmanship to Candy – the Social Media Buzz During the Sky News Event

Online users flooded platforms with everything from Drake-inspired memes featuring Rishi Sunak to discussions about Sir Keir Starmer’s background in tool-making, highlighting their favorite parts of the previous evening’s election coverage.

Open-source intelligence contributor @OliveLineham

Thursday, June 13, 2024, 12:

Last night, as Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer vied for support in Grimsby at a Sky TV debate, a separate group was scrutinizing their performance via social media platforms.

The discussions ranged from the Prime Minister's penchant for sweet snacks to repeated mentions of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer frequently noting that his father worked as a toolmaker; the conversation was indeed bustling with activity.

Here's the online audience's reaction to the debate.

Sky News employed the social media monitoring platform TalkWalker to assess the reception of both leaders on platforms including TikTok, YouTube, and X during the event.

According to analytics from TalkWalker, the sentiment expressed by most social media users discussing the two leaders was predominantly negative or neutral, rather than positive.

Our analysis examined social media posts mentioning 'Keir Starmer' and 'Rishi Sunak' from profiles indicating they were in the United Kingdom, posted during the broadcast of Sky's special TV event. Sir Keir slightly edged out the prime minister in terms of posts expressing positive sentiment, registering 7.2% compared to Rishi Sunak's 4.5%.

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The system employs artificial intelligence to assess online discussions' emotional tone, determining if they are favorable or unfavorable, but it does not cover Meta platforms such as Facebook or Instagram.

A recent YouGov survey conducted after last night's event indicates that nearly two-thirds of respondents, or 64%, believed the Labour leader outperformed the prime minister, who was favored by 36%.

Did you know that Sir Keir's father worked as a toolmaker?

The first to face questioning was the leader of the Labour Party. When pressed on matters such as economic policies and unfulfilled promises, his comments on taxation and his own income elicited significant reactions from the audience.

Sir Keir acknowledged his high salary, exceeding £126,000, and then reused a familiar line that not only amused the Grimsby audience but also became one of the standout viral moments from the event online.

He explained, "Growing up, my father was employed as a toolmaker in a factory, that's a fact, and my mother worked as a nurse. Despite their jobs, we still struggled financially, and honestly, it's not something to joke about."

A particular version of the video shared on X quickly amassed over 700,000 views within the initial two hours and has now nearly reached two million views.

People humorously noted on social media that the Labour leader often repeats the same phrase. Even the betting firm PaddyPower joined in, sharing a video featuring the well-known gif of football enthusiast Lee Judges exclaiming, "he's done it again…."

Sunak's favorite indulgence? Haribo gummies.

Could you share something with our viewers that might endear you to them once again?

Mr. Sunak confessed that despite appearances suggesting he leads a "healthy lifestyle," he actually has a "terrible diet" and consumes a "huge amount of sugar," noting that his preferred snacks include Haribos and Twix.

Images poking fun at the prime minister's fondness for sweets quickly appeared on X. Parody accounts shared tweets saying, "vote for me because I eat Haribos," accompanied by a recent photo of the prime minister.

What were the actions of the other groups involved?

In last evening's broadcast, attention focused solely on the leaders of the Labour and Conservative parties, though representatives from other political groups also contributed their perspectives.

The Liberal Democrats used platform X to poke fun at the prime minister, concentrating less on political issues and more on his looks.

In a recent social media update, the SNP relayed a message from their candidate Alison Thewliss, asserting that Sir Keir's responses during the previous evening's discussion definitively demonstrated Labour's lack of commitment to addressing child poverty.

During the occurrence of yesterday's event, a review by Sky News of the social media platforms TikTok, Facebook, and X for various political groups—including the Liberal Democrats, Green Party, Reform UK, Plaid Cymru, and SNP—indicated that the majority of these parties were notably inactive, with minimal or no mentions of the event on their accounts.

In the meantime, the social media pages of the Green Party, Reform UK, and Plaid Cymrufocused on their respective campaign activities and did not comment on the appearances of Sir Keir and Mr. Sunak at the event.

This piece is a component of the Online Election project, a special endeavor by Sky News focusing on the digital aspects of the election campaign. Tom Cheshire spearheads our coverage as the correspondent dedicated to the online campaign activities.

The Data and Forensic unit at Sky News is a versatile team committed to upholding clear and honest journalism. This group collects, scrutinizes, and illustrates data to craft stories that are guided by factual data. They blend conventional journalistic techniques with sophisticated evaluations of satellite imagery, social media, and various publicly available data sources. By employing a multimedia narrative approach, they strive to enhance understanding of global events and demonstrate the workings behind their journalistic efforts.

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