A FAST-GROWING Twitter account highlighting the “wonderful failures” of GB News was designed as a “public service for fails and laughter”, according to its founder.

The anonymous creator spoke to The National after the GBNews Fails account picked up 64,900 followers in just a few days – nearly a quarter of what the new channel has itself.

This week as Andrew Neil’s news channel faced technical problem after technical problem, the Twitter user launched a profile dedicated to the gaffes.

From presenters being cut off by sudden weather reports and loud jingles obscuring the journalists’ speech, to spelling errors, hosts caught on screen with their head in their hands and reporters identified by the wrong names, the channel has been plagued by technical chaos since Sunday night.

Even on launch night Neil’s audio was out-of-sync as he laid out his agenda for the channel, which he pledges will not be “another echo chamber for the metropolitan mindset that already dominates so much of the media”.

Multiple brands including Ikea and Kopparberg have also pulled advertising from GB News.

GBNews Fails kicked off after its creator spotted a graphic spelling “freedom” incorrectly on a broadcast, and posted it alongside a joke about William Wallace. Since then those running the profile have been watching along to spot errors and relying on other viewers to send problems they’ve caught to their dedicated email address.

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While many have mocked and berated GB News for its failings this week, the founder of GBews Fails wants people to understand his account is not attacking one – it’s there to make people laugh.

“It’s a public service for fails and laughter, and that’s all it is,” he told The National. “People like something going wrong, don’t they? It doesn’t matter if it’s television, if it’s radio – you laugh at it. It’s just human nature.”

Due to the sustained hype in the run-up to GB News’s launch, many have questioned just how so much has gone wrong.

“It’s possibly a case of they just went to launch too quickly,” suggested the GBNews Fails creator. “Maybe they jumped before they were ready to walk. What happened in the rehearsals? Because somebody’s made a decision that they’re going live – I don’t think I would have been happy pressing the button.”

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Following the exceptionally fast growth of the account, Twitter users have speculated that GB News has purposefully been making basis errors in order to generate publicity. The account holder questioned that, and denied he has ulterior motives.

“If it is, then it’s worked very well,” he said while laughing.  

“If it is, it’s a very new way of doing it – but it’s also a very risky strategy isn’t it, if it is the intention. Certainly like yesterday, if you have Theo Paphitis on as a multi-millionaire guest, do you intentionally spell his name wrong to get a few more viewers? Will he go back on? You’ve got to think of the possible damage you’ll cause as well as gaining an audience.”

Having sorted through, at this point, hundreds of submissions from viewers, the founder has had the pleasure of watching an array of mishaps. But his favourite so far is Colin Brazier holding in a laugh as his co-presenter confused the concept of computer viruses with diseases, asking tech expert discussing digital warfare about the risk from Covid-like illnesses in space.

Brazier leaned forward and subtly laughed into his hand, but the clip was widely shared on social media. “I have much respect for how well he kept that in,” the Twitter account holder said.

GBNews Fails has received enquiries from people seeking to buy the account due to its huge and ever-increasing following. But its creator just wants to continue having fun with it, and will close up shop once the problems stop rolling in.

“A side effect I didn’t expect is all the people who are now messaging saying it’s made quite a difference to their life,” he explained. “I shared a message this morning – people saying they wake up in a dark area and this brings them out, which I never intended but it’s a very good side effect.

“The point of the whole thing is hopefully to give people a laugh.”