Posted on 01/08/2020 8:27:26 AM PST by Arones
An Instagram account that was impersonating that of a U.S. government news agency has been closed down after it was used to spread misinformation about the unfolding situation in the Middle East. The account wrongly claimed that the daughter of slain Iran Gen. Qassem Soleimani is a U.S. citizen.
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CHICAGO (AP) — An Instagram account masquerading as a U.S. government news agency was used to promote misinformation about potential fallout from America's targeted killing last week of Iran’s top general.
The fraudulent Instagram account had nearly a half-million followers and used the name as well as logo of the U.S. government's news agency in Iran, which is called Voice of America Persian. The Voice of America broadcasts television, radio and online news in countries around the world.
The profile was removed Tuesday afternoon for violating the platform’s impersonation policies after The Associated Press contacted the agency to inquire about the account’s authenticity.
The VOA Persian's official Instagram account uses the handle VOAFarsi and is verified, with a blue check mark in its profile. The fake account went by the handle VOA_Persian.
On Monday, a post from the fake VOA account triggered a flood of viral misinformation.
The Instagram post included a video clip of slain Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani’s daughter, Zeinab, speaking at his funeral. The caption of that Instagram post, written in Farsi, claimed that Zeinab Soleimani said she was a U.S. citizen. The post had more than 28,000 likes and 10,000 comments by Monday evening.
(Excerpt) Read more at usnews.com ...
There ARE some OK oasises on those platforms.
There ARE some OK oasises on those platforms.
Account fake but did she say she was?
Account fake but did she say she was?
No. Do you think she did?
Pulled the rug from under the Persian.
Announced here;
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3806088/posts
GP should issue a correction.
But they have no interest in accurate reporting.
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