Nadine Dorries didn’t say people should use cats and dogs to keep warm this winter

A screenshot of a fake tweet from Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, in which she suggests cats and dogs could be used to provide warmth in winter, has been shared thousands of times on Twitter. 

The alleged tweet reads: “To keep warm this winter we should turn to man’s best friend, the domesticated dog. 

“As a nation of animal lovers, we are well aware that dogs can provide warmth. Also, in ancient China Shih Tzus were inserted into sleeves to keep people warm.

“Cats probably work quite well to [sic].” 

The screenshot has also appeared on Facebook, where it has been shared many times. 

But this was never actually tweeted by Ms Dorries. A spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport confirmed to Full Fact that the tweet is fake. 

There is no trace of the tweet on Ms Dorries’ Twitter feed, nor does the text of the alleged tweet appear on Twitter via search. 

This is not the first time we have seen fake tweets purportedly written by Ms Dorries appearing on social media. In April we fact checked a viral social media post which claimed to show the Culture Secretary claiming “food doesn’t grow on trees”. 

This false claim has also been recently repeated on social media and shared thousands more times. 

Image courtesy of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport