A Conservative party information officer is facing criticism after sharing a widely-viewed picture of Jeremy Corbyn receiving a two-fingered salute while out campaigning on the doorsteps – an image which has subsequently been shown to be a forgery.

Suzan Walsh couldn’t resist distributing the doctored image amongst her Facebook group, The Heart of British Politics, in which she remarked: “Is this lady telling Jeremy Corbyn that he can count on two votes from her household.”

Smelling a rat however Skwawkbox, the independent blog, delved a little deeper discovering that the source image originated from the Getty Images site with the householder in question, Catherine Finney, actually delivering a fist bump in solidarity with the left winger.

Defending the use of the image a spokesperson for Walsh, Micky Adams, told Evolve Politics that the post had been taken out of context, saying: “If you look at the post she (Ms Walsh) clearly queries the peril of photo ops and further refers to the woman confirming two Labour voters in that household.”

The propagation of ‘fake news’ has sparked growing unease amongst media watchers, who fear that the 8 June snap election will serve to exacerbate the issue.