Footage originally taken from GB News was used by a local Reform Party to falsely claim a rival MP was abusive to Nigel Farage in Parliament
Police are looking into threats made to an MP after an AI-edited video appearing to show him calling Nigel Farage a “c**t” was published by a Reform UK social media account.
The clip was posted by a local Reform Party account on X and viewed almost 100,000 times before being deleted.
Liberal Democrat MP Max Wilkinson said he and his office were inundated with abusive messages, threats of violent attacks and claims he would be tracked down near Parliament.
Media regulator Ofcom has said it is “concerned” by the incident.
Cheltenham MP Wilkinson told The i Paper: “Nigel Farage says his party wants to be taken seriously, but it seems from these kinds of underhanded online antics, they’re clearly not ready for decent politics.”
MPs and their staff have increasingly become subject to online abuse and threats. These threats come against a backdrop of the murders of MPs Sir David Amess in 2021 and Jo Cox in 2016.
The clip showed Farage speaking in the House of Commons (Photo: House of Commons/AFP)
The edited or commissioned video was posted on the Spen Valley Reform UK page on X on 30 April. Spen Valley, in West Yorkshire, was previously represented by Ms Cox.
The video was captioned: “Excuse me? Did Liberal Democrat MP Max Wilkinson @mpmwilko just call @Nigel_Farage a “Stupid C**T in PMQs today??”.
In the video, Wilkinson can be seen sitting on a bench behind Farage in the Commons and talking as the Reform leader makes a speech.
A subtitle posted onto the video reads: “Maybe you can pay for it, then you stupid ****” as Wilkinson spoke from the bench behind Farage.
Wilkinson has strenuously denied that he used the expletive.
It is not clear who created the edited video. It bore a watermark for Vizard.AI, an artificial intelligence company that advertises itself as using “AI to turn your long-form videos into short clips ready for channels like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube”, and includes the ability to add captions.
Max Wilkinson MP, second from right, seen on the campaign trail with Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey (centre) (Photo: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire)
The MP, who is also DCMS party spokesperson, raised the altered video in Parliament as a Point of Order.
He told the Commons: “This is misinformation. It is fake news. It is Trumpian tactics.”
Spen Valley Reform UK deleted the video and issued an apology to Wilkinson and the House of Commons on 13 May, saying they “withdraw the accusation made”. This clarification on X was viewed less than 600 times.
After taking down the video, the Spen Valley Reform UK account posted: “A post was made… suggesting that Max Wilkinson MP had used a four-letter expletive in the House of Commons chamber to describe Nigel Farage MP.
“Spen Valley Reform UK have deleted the post, withdraws the accusation made and apologises to Mr Wilkinson and the House of Commons.”
The video of Wilkinson was reported to X but no action was taken by the platform, which is owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
The Liberal Democrats have written to Ofcom, the media regulator, reporting the matter.
The manipulated video bore a watermark for vizard.ai, which boasts of using ‘AI magic’ to edit clips
An Ofcom spokesperson said: “We’re concerned to hear about Max Wilkinson MP’s experience. Under the Online Safety Act, if a post is reported to a platform, it must take the post down swiftly if it is illegal content under UK laws.”
It comes after Farage was forced to defend an advert released by his party claiming Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar wanted to “prioritise the Pakistani community” despite the Glasgow MSP not saying that in the accompanying footage.
Both Labour and SNP Scottish First Minister John Swinney described the video, posted on Facebook and Instagram, as “blatantly racist”.
Reform UK was contacted for comment but did not respond.
Gloucestershire Constabulary confirmed they received the abusive messages from Mr Wilkinson’s office and passed them on to the Parliamentary Liaison and Investigation Team in the Metropolitan Police.
The Metropolitan Police have been contacted for comment.