REFORM’S social media tactics are undeniably innovative: Increasingly, any given post by government, or even backbench Labour MPs sees a flurry of uncannily similar comments.

A sea of accounts with Reform and other “patriotic” logos or, in the case of TikTok, “username” followed by a string of numbers. No friends, pictures, or followers – all regurgitating the same attack lines.

At the 2024 General Election, Global Witness found a limited number of bot-like accounts produced 60,000 posts generating 150-million views. Despite limited numbers, their influence was massively disproportionate. Often, messages are intentionally divisive – drowning out the real voices of voters. This pollution of social media means politicians and citizens alike struggle to discern what the public mood actually is. Instead, as MPs we find ourselves wading through poisonous musings – often from Russia, Iran, or Africa – to try and understand the concerns of our constituents.

The BBC’s “undercover voters” – dummy accounts made to gauge what voters see on social media feeds – found dozens of bot-like accounts repeatedly comment and repost the same pro-Reform phrases. When the BBC asked one of the accounts where they were based they answered… Bulgaria.

Recently, fairly innocuous posts by backbench colleagues have blown up with hundreds of comments from online right-wing activist groups from across the country. Language used by these bots is often offensive, harmful, and nasty. Having spoken to many parliamentary colleagues, there is increasing discomfort at the prospect of facing such extreme and, frankly, un-British behaviour. This is not how we conduct our politics, and we shouldn’t allow these insidious actors to influence it like this.

In an unlikely coincidence, these bots are often incredibly supportive of Reform. If Reform is so popular, why do they need to fake it with bots and keyboard warriors? A populist party that has to resort to robots and algorithm manipulation to bolster its messaging may, in reality, not actually be that popular.

Social media corporations have a responsibility to get a handle on these bots. If we’re to have frank, honest conversations about the future of our country, we need to make sure we’re speaking to one another, instead of bots or hostile foreign actors. The ability to have robust and healthy discussions - and disagreements – and know who we’re having them with – is a vital part of our democracy, and we must protect it.

It’s increasingly clear that even the left and centrists cannot muster such resource. Is it for lack of support? The fact that 74 per cent of people don’t plan to vote Reform suggests otherwise. But this playbook has been carefully honed and disseminated by digital organisers internationally. With 10 per cent of political donations coming from unknown sources, and Musk's X paying huge, disproportionate fees to hard-right politicians for their content, they have the financial resources. A healthy dose of amygdala reactivity set against the left's undying penchant for self-loathing can go an awfully long way. Above all, however, and dare I suggest - bots and people with too much time on their hands.