Following the death of ZanuPF spokesman Simon Khaya Moyo, posts falsely attributed to him are being shared widely on social media.
However, the tweets are from an account already dismissed as fake by both Moyo and his party.
One of the last posts from the account, posted on November 8, only a week before his death, has drawn close to a thousand responses from users misled by the account.
On June 9 in 2020, Moyo had said in a statement that he was not on twitter. His party also said Moyo had no Twitter account.
What to look for?
Social media accounts that impersonate prominent people are common. However, there are always signs to look for.
In this case, the account posted a tweet in January, saying: “Dear Zimbabweans. It is unAfrican to celebrate death. Let’s mourn with those who have lost their loved ones.”
The tweet was not pinned to the account’s profile before his death was announced on Sunday. However, following Moyo’s death, the account’s user pinned the post to the top of the account’s timeline.
Common shares between other already discredited accounts are usually a sign that a group of accounts is run by the same persons. There are common retweets between another account impersonating another politician, Victor Matemadanda – who has also publicly stated he has no Twitter account – as well as an account impersonating the ZBC.
The fake Moyo account has shared misinformation, including a tweet by the fake Matemadanda account, claiming that armed forces had been given a 600% salary hike.
Other signs include a June 30, 2020 post by the ‘Moyo’ account claiming a plot “to wrestle power from baba Mnangagwa”.
Conclusion
Tweets purporting to have been from late politician Simon Khaya Moyo are from an account already dismissed as fake by Moyo and his party.
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