Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Tuesday, March 19, 2024

HomeEnglishBBC, WHO Chief Tag Fake Profile Impersonating Nobel Prize Winner

BBC, WHO Chief Tag Fake Profile Impersonating Nobel Prize Winner

Authors

Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.

New Delhi: The BBC News Africa, Director General of World Health Organisation and The Africa Report were among prominent handles on Twitter that tagged a fake profile that was impersonating Abdulrazak Gurnah, the winner of Nobel Prize for literature this year.  

Fact Check

Twitter users pointed out that the profile, with the handle @ErnauxA changed their profile name and handle soon after the announcement of the awards to impersonate Abdulrazak Gurnah. The new handle, @GurnahAuthor, was picked up by prominent Twitter users who wanted to tag the Tanzanian author to congratulate him on the win.

(Screengrab of Twitter user Ajayendra Urmila Tripathi pointing out that Gurnah’s profile is fake)

A search for the profile @ErnauxA throws up Gurnah’s profile as the top result.

(A search result of the Twitter handle @ErnauxA shows Gurnah’s profile as the top result)

Another image shared on Twitter also shows the user’s original handle with the image and name of Gurnah.

(Gurnah’s alleged Twitter profile shows up with the old handle)

An archive version of Gurnah’s tweet thanking for the Nobel win also shows the original profile of one Annie Ernaux. The profile claims that she is an author and lives in France.

Conclusion

The findings reveal that the Twitter user @ErnauxA has attempted to impersonate Nobel literature prize winner Abdulrazak Gurnah.

Result

Imposter content

Sources

Social Media


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Authors

Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.

Pankaj Menon
Pankaj Menon
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.

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