Twitter users foxed by multiple accounts impersonating Mahua Moitra - Alt News
Arjun Sidharth
4th July 2019 / 8:16 pm
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has been a prominent newsmaker over the past week with her speech in the Lok Sabha, followed by false claims that it was plagiarised from an article written by an American journalist.
On Twitter, multiple accounts have sprung up, claiming to be Mahua Moitra.
Unsurprisingly, some Twitter users seem to have been deceived. For instance, the screenshot posted below is of a fake account of Moitra(@moitra_mahua). This account has close to 6000 followers, and among those who follow it include TMC MP Derek O’Brien and journalist Sankarshan Thakur. The account clearly impersonates the TMC MP by suggesting that it belongs to her.
The official Twitter account of Mahua Moitra is @MahuaMoitra. This was confirmed to Alt News by Moitra herself who said, “I have only one official account, which is @MahuaMoitra.” The same is clearly mentioned in the Bio section of the account. A screenshot of her official account is posted below.
Twitter’s policy on parody/newsfeed/commentary/fan accounts categorically states that users are allowed to create these, provided they follow certain guidelines, such as unambiguous mention in the Bio section and the account name, that the said account is not affiliated with the subject of the account, and that it is a parody and/or fan account.
While one of the accounts states that it is a parody account of Ms. Moitra, two others have referred to the accounts as fan accounts. It may be noted that the account @Moitra_Mahua added the ‘parody’ disclaimer only at the time of writing this article. Among those deceived by this handle include Zee News anchor Sudhir Chaudhary and Business Line.
“Privileged”MP @moitra_mahua backed by @MamataOfficial’s money&muscle,brings a breach of privilege motion against me in Lok Sabha.I hv none of her privileges&power,just my freedom of expression.Tonight in the people’s parliament I’ll move a breach of privilege motion against her. pic.twitter.com/TQj3IuihI0
— Sudhir Chaudhary (@sudhirchaudhary) July 4, 2019
It may be noted that the official Twitter handle of TMC MP Mahua Moitra is @MahuaMoitra. All other accounts are mere impersonations.
Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming.
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