The BBC is claiming to have unearthed leaked notes about how the government plans to market the final Brexit deal to the public and parliament, once it has been agreed.
The notes include a step-by-step timeline of events, including speeches, media appearances, and the names of key influencers who will be used to convince the public that the Brexit deal is a beneficial agreement for the UK.
It’s worth noting that a government spokesperson has denied the authenticity of this document passed to the BBC, saying in a statement; ‘The misspelling and childish language in this document should be enough to make clear it doesn't represent the government's thinking. You would expect the government to have plans for all situations — to be clear, this isn't one of them.’
But if it is real, the social media strategy the government is planning to use is much more modern than we would ever have guessed - as it relies heavily on key political influencers.
The general theme of the campaign is; ‘measured success, that this is good for everyone, but won't be all champagne corks popping,’ according to the notes.
And as well as ministers and cabinet members doing scheduled media appearances, the document states that the government is ‘lining up 25 top business voices including Carolyn Fairburn and lots of world leaders eg Japanese PM to tweet support for the deal.’
Is it just us or does this sound like the launch of a new season collection with key pieces being sent out to influencers in return for a post on social media, will the Japanese PM be declaring this as a #ad or labelling it #spon in line with the new ASA guidelines for influencers? We hope so.
Other mentions of influencers in the document come under the immigration heading; ‘Hope Mike Hawes of SMMT will speak out in favour along with influential voices from the rest of the world saying how great this is for the flow of global talent.’
Not surprisingly, the document has been widely shared discussed on social media, with BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg tweeting; ‘Also fascinating to see how many people could be lined up to back it - from CBI, to Andy Burnham, to Japanese PM, to all those 'former foreign secs' - not clear yet how many of them have actually signed up yet’
Considering the bad track record the Conservatives have on social media – awkward Instagram posts, blocking members of other parties, and leaked documents which show MPs and staff being taught how to deal with trolls online, it’s no wonder the party wants to try and get some outside help to boost their agenda online, who knows, they might even make it into a Twitter moment.