May Launches Direct Assault on ‘Fake News’ as Brexit D-Day Nears

(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Theresa May stepped up the media blitz to sell her Brexit deal to U.K. voters on Friday with the unveiling of a website set up to rebut “criticisms and inaccurate reporting.”

The “Brexit Facts” blog, hosted on an official government website, opened with claim-by-claim responses to articles in the Spectator magazine and the City A.M newspaper.

“This blog will set out facts relating to the Brexit agreement the government has reached with the European Union,” it said on its homepage. “It will offer rebuttal to criticisms and inaccurate reporting in the lead up to Parliament’s meaningful vote on the deal.”

May has abandoned the reluctance to engage with the media that has characterized her time in office and thrown herself into phone-in shows, newspaper and TV interviews and even a press conference since announcing the deal. She is seeking to go over the heads of politicians and appeal directly to the public to back the agreement ahead of crucial votes in parliament expected next month.

Earlier on Friday May appeared on BBC Radio and TV answering questions from viewers and listeners on the deal, which she hopes to finalize with EU leaders this weekend. She also posted a one-minute video on Twitter to explain the deal, which ends with the line: “Now is the time to come together to build a brighter future.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.net;Charlotte Ryan in London at cryan147@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Walter Brandimarte

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