Keir Starmer’s Guardian op-ed on Eddie Izzard is fake

Context

On December 18, 2023, a Facebook account shared a screenshot of a supposed opinion article written by U.K. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer on the Guardian's website. The article is titled "Eddie Izzard is a true working class woman who represents the real values of the Labour Party.”

The post has been shared widely across X and Facebook.

In fact

Examining the image suggests it was published on December 17, 2023. However, a detailed search of the Guardian website and social media accounts reveals no such publication. 

A closer inspection of the image shows some differences from a regular Guardian publication. The top right corner, for instance, carries the title “The Grauniad.” The Grauniad is an affectionate moniker bestowed upon the long-running newspaper due to its many typos and errors in copy over the years. This nickname now often features in satirical mock-up images such as these. 

Additionally, on the real Guardian website, under the Guardian article, it says "newspaper of the year" in yellow, a detail not visible in the screenshot in the post shared on Facebook.

Comparison of the viral fake Guardian post and a real Guardian article by Keir Starmer. (Source: The Guardian/Screenshot/Annotated by Logically Facts)

Keir Starmer does have bylines in the Guardian, the most recent of which was about children's health on January 10, 2024. As shown in the image, none of these feature articles about Eddie Izzard.

A list of articles by Keir Starmer on the Guardian website. (Source: The Guardian/Screenshot)

We also contacted the Guardian, who confirmed that this article was not a genuine publication. Although this post is most certainly satirical, this is not the first time that fake Guardian headlines have made the news. One frequent target of online trolls is lawyer Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, which Logically Facts has previously covered. The Guardian took legal action against one prolific parody headline generator site in 2020, but several copycat sites have since proliferated.

Comedian and activist Eddie Izzard, who is transgender and also uses the name Suzy, has previously criticized the Labour Party for not doing enough to tackle transphobia, particularly during her campaign to be selected as Brighton’s Labour candidate for Parliament.

The parody headline refers to this, and is intended to be satirical, although some appear to have taken it seriously.

The verdict

This op-ed is fake. The image has been edited and there is no such opinion article by Keir Starmer. The Guardian also confirmed that there is no such article. Therefore, we have marked this claim as fake.