Lord Alan Sugar’s past comments about the coronavirus pandemic have come back to haunt him after he commented on Donald Trump. Took to Twitter following the news that the President of the USA.
What was claimed
Accounts on Twitter resharing a post about journalism failing to capture the mood of the country is a coordinated bot effort.
Over theweekend, it was suggested that there might have been coordinated effort from a number of Twitter accounts to share a part of a viral post about UK journalists missing the “mood” of the country. Some on Twitter have also claimed this was the work of “bots”.
Alan Sugar and wife Ann Simons at The Pride Of Britain Awards Credit: PA. Bannatyne tweeted: 'At Pride of Britain.The purpose of a celeb here is to let award winners get selfies with you Lord Sugar. Lord Alan Sugar left Twitter users flabbergasted yesterday after posting incoherent ramblings on the cause of Covid-19. The Apprentice star took to social media to offer his two penneth on how the. The latest tweets from @LordSirAlan.
The post these supposedly suspicious tweets quote from was brought to prominence last week when a screenshot of it was shared by Alan Sugar on Twitter, but it had been circulating on Facebook before that. Other versions of the post had also appeared previously on Twitter too.
The most widely shared section of the post reads: “Journalism is missing the 'mood' in this great country of ours - the United Kingdom. We do not want or need blame. We do not want constant criticism of our Government who are doing their very best in a very difficult and unprecedented global emergency”
As we’ve discussed before, copy and paste posts like these are unlikely to be bot activity. The accounts sharing this message have very little in common—they were created at varying dates, have tweeted about different topics prior to sharing the tweet, and took different approaches to sharing the post’s content, some just sharing one part of the post while others shared larger parts, or added their own opinions or feelings. Also, relatively few accounts are actually sharing the post on Twitter.
The original post these tweets quote from encourages people to share its sentiment, so it’s likely people are just following this instruction.
First Draft News’s article on how to spot a bot is a helpful guide to whether something is legitimate bot activity.
Hear us talk through this fact check on our weekly podcast.
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Lord Alan Sugar has accused Piers Morgan of 'scaremongering' during the coronavirus pandemic, calling his behaviour 'disgusting'.
Speaking to Sarah-Jane Mee on her new Sky News podcast In This Together, The Apprentice star said: 'He's just gone completely over the top and in the early stages of [the COVID-19 pandemic] scaremongering, and his constant hammering of the government is absolutely irresponsible and disgusting to be honest.'
When asked by Mee whether their friendship was beyond repair, Lord Sugar said: 'I basically don't care really, to be perfectly frank. I think he's enjoyed it, enjoyed trying to make a name for himself.
'When this is all over who knows. Do I care? No. I couldn't give a damn to be honest with you. But I'm not going to stand by and remain silent when I see him spewing out so much rubbish unfairly against the government.'
Clarifying his political position, Lord Sugar added: 'Let me make it perfectly clear, the government's not perfect, mistakes have been made and they're learning as we're going along.'
:: Listen to Coronavirus: In This Together on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Spreaker
The 73-year-old's sparring with Morgan, 55, began in 2007, when the journalist took part in a charity version of The Apprentice, and was swiftly fired by the businessman.
Alan Sugar Twitter
They have locked horns many times over the ensuing years, with their public spats frequently playing out on social media.
Up until now, the bickering has been in relatively good spirits, and to prove the point, just last year Lord Sugar appeared on Piers Morgan's Life Stories.
Last year they even holidayed in the south of France together.
However, their love-hate relationship took a turn for the worse earlier this year, after Morgan spoke out against Boris Johnson's government for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
And just this month, Lord Sugar riled his ex-pal after asking him if he'd 'been buying followers' on Twitter. Morgan has 7.5 million followers, while Lord Sugar has 5.3 million.
Morgan has since described Lord Sugar as 'a former friend'.
Assessing the government's management of the global health crisis thus far, Lord Sugar admits: 'We've got caught with our trousers down, so to speak.
'I mean no one has ever been through anything like this and we have to learn as we go along what to do and I think it's unreasonable to expect that the government should be fully aware of what they need to do.
'It's kind of a learning curve. I think they've done the best they possibly can. I don't think they're deliberately going out of their way not to help, but it is a learning curve.'
Lord Sugar also praised the resourcefulness of the nation's businesses throughout the lockdown.
'That's the resourcefulness of the entrepreneur or good business people to realise what they can do rather than sit back and moan, just to get on and do something about it.
'Restaurants have been doing takeaway for example, some people have jumped on the bandwagon of making masks, some people have realised that there is a business to be had in the healthcare industry, so they've adapted very well and good luck to them.'
The full interview with Lord Sugar is included in Mee's In This Together podcast, which aims to celebrate uplifting moments during the coronavirus outbreak.
Alan Sugar Twitter Message
Comedian Katherine Ryan also joins in the podcast chat.
Suga Twitter
#InThisTogether is available on Spotify, Apple Music and wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.
Sky News has contacted Piers Morgan for comment.