A conspiracy theory has emerged online claiming that some of Reform UK’s candidates in the 2024 general election are not real people.
The Guardian reported on Monday (July 8) that some potential candidates had put themselves forward for election without providing photographs, biographies or contact details.
The theory gained further traction after the X-account (formerly Twitter) Dr. Bella published campaign photos of Mark Matlock, who was running as Reform UK’s candidate for Clapham and Brixton Hill.
“We may be on the verge of a HUGE SCANDAL. There are suspicions that Reform has put forward candidates for election who are not real people,” the account said.
According to X’s statistics, the post was viewed over 6.8 million times.
The speculation is based on a heavily retouched, fake-looking photograph of Mark Matlock that was used in the reform campaign literature.
Matlock also failed to appear at the vote count, heightening concerns, but his X-report indicated he was ill at the time.
“Unfortunately, I will not be participating in the count tonight as I have pneumonia,” reads a July 4 post from the account vote4MarkReform. The account was created in June 2024.
Unfortunately, I cannot take part in the counting tonight because I have pneumonia.
The hospital I was in was closing early. I told the nurse over the bell that I was having trouble breathing and she told me to call a number.
Electoral reform, that’s madness @NHSEngland @NHSuk pic.twitter.com/f5zP3ifJ67– Mark Matlock (@vote4MarkReform) July 4, 2024
Reform insisted that all of its 609 candidates were genuine.
“All of our candidates are absolutely real. Given the rush, some are only candidates on paper and have not campaigned. Some started out as candidates on paper but then campaigned,” the Guardian said in a statement.
Matlock also posted a video of himself on his X-account, although it appears to only be a partial likeness to the face on Reform UK’s promotional material.
Matlock himself has since tried to dispel the conspiracy theory.
“The photo of me was taken outside the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. I had the background removed and replaced with the logo and they changed the colour of my tie,” he told the Independent.
“The only reason we did this was because we couldn’t get a photographer at such short notice – but that’s me.”
He also explained why he did not attend the election rally in the constituency before the vote.
“I have called Lambeth council countless times to attend election rallies but none of them have invited me. I am all for election rallies. I care about what I am standing for and I invite people to question me but I have never been given that opportunity,” he said.
Good morning, as you can see, this is about election interference and not a downright witch hunt.
The aim is to destroy the integrity of our party.
I hope we have exposed this enough to bring these corrupt criminals to light.
They are scavengers and the worst.– Mark Matlock (@vote4MarkReform) July 9, 2024
In an X-post on Tuesday morning (July 9), he added: “Good morning, as you can see, this is election interference, a real witch hunt. The aim is to destroy the integrity of our party.”
“I hope we have uncovered this enough to bring these corrupt criminals to light. They are the lowest of the low, the lowest of the low.”
On Monday, he also posted a video of himself dancing.
Reform came fifth in the Clapham and Brixton Hill general election with 1,758 votes or 4.1 percent of the vote. Labour’s Bell Ribeiro-Addy won the seat with 24,166 votes.
A report published by the Centre for Policy Studies CPS suggested that the parliamentary elections could be the country’s “first deepfake election”.
Matlock argues that today’s AI image generation tools are capable of creating a more convincing fake person than the one seen in Reform’s smooth-skinned photo.
