A fake newspaper to end fake news with ‘Misleading Times’ sent to MPs to expose absurdity of UK election rules allowing fake newspapers

UK-based Reform Political Advertising (RPA), in conjunction with Clemenger BBDO Australia, has launched a provocative new campaign targeting Members of Parliament, delivering a satirical “fake newspaper” to Westminster to highlight the dangerous lack of regulation in UK election advertising. It uses the loopholes that parties exploit against them to push for reform.

All other forms of advertising in the UK are under the remit of the Advertising Standards Authority but election advertising is the only form of advertising that has no rules for factual accuracy. And one of the most commonly used tactics by parties is the creation of fake newspapers that imitate local mastheads and covertly push a political agenda.

Not only are the newspapers often not marked as being created by political parties, they are often filled with inaccurate and misleading data, opinion and stories.

As the Labour government prepares to bring forward its new Elections Bill, RPA is calling for urgent legislative updates to stop political parties from deceiving voters. To drive the message home, the group has created “The Misleading Times” – a 100% fabricated newspaper that is currently landing on the desks of MPs ahead of the Bill.

The publication, which mimics the style of the fake local newspapers, is filled with deliberately absurd stories to educate readers about  the tactics used by parties, such as:

• “CAMPAIGN ANALYST NOT SURPRISED AT HOW DIRE THE PROBLEMS ARE THAT HE JUST MADE UP”
• “COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT DATA DRESSED UP AS LEGITIMATE POLLING BY POLITICAL PARTY”
• “POLITICIAN RUSHED TO HOSPITAL AFTER TROUSERS SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST”

While the content is satirical, the point is serious: under the current UK law, election advertising is exempt from the factual standards that govern commercial advertising. As the newspaper’s editorial notes, “It’s perfectly OK for political parties to lie and deceive you as much as they like.”

The Solution: Four Amendments Sought for the Elections Bill

Reform Political Advertising is lobbying for four specific amendments to be included in the upcoming Elections Bill to modernise Britain’s electoral laws:

Universal Imprints: Extending rules so that all election advertising (digital and non-digital) must clearly display the name of the political party responsible, allowing voters to immediately identify the source.

A Ban on Deceptive “Deepfakes”: Making it illegal to create or distribute digital content that falsely purports to be a candidate (or claims to speak for them) with the intent to deceive. Parody and satire would remain protected.

A Global Ad Repository: Mandating a searchable, public repository for all election adverts. This would disclose who is paying, who is sponsoring the content, and who is being targeted, effectively ending unscrutinised “dark advertising”.

A Code of Practice: Requiring political parties to work with the Advertising Standards Authority , the Electoral Commission, Ofcom, and the UK Statistics Authority to develop and enforce a code of practice that restricts fundamentally inaccurate advertising.

The last two recommendations were made by the cross-party House of Lords Democracy and Digital Technologies Committee in 2020.

CB understands the collaboration followed an international RPA forum on electoral disinformation last year, which included Australian MP Zali Steggall, with the organisation subsequently approaching Clemenger BBDO Australia after seeing its Crikey work spotlighting similar regulatory loopholes during the Federal Election.

Says Alex Tait, Co-founder of Reform Political Advertising: “We created The Misleading Times to hold a mirror up to the system. It is ludicrous that in 2026, if you advertise a packet of crisps you have four sets of rules to ensure that your advertising is accurate but if you are advertising to influence a vote in an election there are none.

“The new Elections Bill is a once in a generation opportunity to close these loopholes. We are asking MPs to see the funny side of our newspaper, but the serious side of our message: it is time to stop the rot and protect our democracy from disinformation.”

Says Psembi Kinstan, Chief Creative Officer at Clemenger BBDO Australia: “We looked at every trick and tactic the political parties employ in their fake newspapers, and used them to make our point. We’re educating both the MPs and the public of the deceptions to look out for, with dozens of articles, intricately researched and crafted. Every British MP has now received this paper, and the power is in their hands to outlaw this egregiously undemocratic behaviour. ”

Brand: Reform Political Advertising
Agency: Clemenger BBDO Australia

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