BBC and NPR duped by fake Twitter account for Zanu-PF? - iMediaEthics

iMediaEthics publishes international media ethics news stories and investigations into journalism ethics lapses.

Menu

Home » International Media Ethics News»

Who is behind the @Zanu-PF Twitter account? (Credit: Wikipedia)

Shortly after the military coup that arrested President Robert Mugabe apparently to remove him from office in Zimbabwe, both the BBC and NPR fell for an apparently fake Twitter account posing as the account of country’s ruling party Zanu-PF. The Twitter account “is full of rants and proclamations about pornography, eggs Benedict and imperialism,” according to the BBC which noted the Wall Street Journal’s Africa reporter Matina Stevis-Gridneff called the account a parody.

The BBC cited the fake account on its BBC Radio 4’s Today program, in breaking news alerts and on its website, according to the Guardian. That said, the Today program noted it didn’t know “who was in control of the Twitter account,” the Guardian reported. One such tweet the BBC shared read, “There was no coup, only a bloodless transition which saw corrupt and crooked persons being arrested and an elderly man who had been taken advantage of by his wife being detained. The few bangs that were heard were from crooks who were resisting arrest, but they are now detained.”

On air and on Twitter, the BBC cited the @zanu_pf Twitter account. On Twitter, the BBC corrected. iMediaEthics asked if the BBC would broadcast or publish on its website any correction. The BBC told iMediaEthics by e-mail, “BBC News is including appropriate health warnings when referencing it,” and pointed to its tweet which reads:

“Earlier, we mistakenly described @zanu_pf as the official account of Zimbabwe’s ruling party Zanu-PF. We are sorry for any confusion.”

NPR and The Week cited tweets from the Twitter account as if it were real on their websites. iMediaEthics has written to NPR to ask if it has evidence the account is real, and if not, then if it will correct.

The Week‘s reporter, Peter Weber, told iMediaEthics by e-mail, “We did append a note, but the purported ‘parody'” account seems as legitimate as the purported ‘official’ account, if not more so.” The Week added the following update to its story:

“Update 8:53 a.m. ET:After originally describing the Zanu-PF Twitter account as an official government source, the BBC walked back its characterization. The account itself maintains its legitimacy, but it is unclear what affiliation it has with Mugabe’s ruling party. Our original story appears below.”

According to Mashable, “The local paper NewsDay reported in 2013 that @zanu_pf was a fake account and real Zanu-PF officials were looking into the identity of its owner.”

 

Submit a tip / Report a problem

BBC and NPR duped by fake Twitter account for Zanu-PF?

Share this article:

คาสิโน
sa gaming
tkb365
https://tkb399.com/login
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
ทำความรู้จักกับ
PG
สล็อต
tkb138
sa gaming
https://www.hotelplayagolf.com/es/instalaciones/piscinas
tkb365
บาคาร่า
สล็อตเว็บตรง
บาคาร่า
ทดลองเล่นสล็อตฟรี
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต pg
สล็อตเว็บตรง
tkb138
ซุปเปอร์สล็อต
tkb138
tkb365
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
changbet789
สูตรสล็อต pg ทดลองเล่นฟรี
สล็อต ดาวน์โหลด รับเครดิตฟรี
สล็อต
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
tkb138
https://www.hotelalbora.com/
https://tkb108.co/register
tkb696
สล็อตเว็บตรง
changbet789
สล็อตทดลอง
pg
betflix
pg slot
สล็อต
pg slot
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
sbobet
บาคาร่า
tkb138
https://titanium-hotel.com/
สล็อต
tkb138
taokaebet
tkb777
อันดับแรก
คาสิโน
changbet789
แจกเครดิตฟรี 100%
ทดลองเล่นสล็อตทุกค่ายฟรี
สล็อต
changbet789
tkb365
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
changbet789
finfinbet
คาสิโน
changbet789
tkb108
tkbneko
สล็อต
สล็อต
สล็อต
https://www.gday96.com/
สล็อต888
สล็อต
PG
บาคาร่าเว็บตรง
changbet789
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต pg
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
ทดลองเล่นสล็อตฟรี
tkb365
tkb365
tkb365
tkb555
tkb555
tkb555
tkb555
tkb555
tkb555
tkb555
tkbking
tkbking
tkbking
tkbking
tkbking
tkbking
thb889
thb889
thb889
thb889
thb889
thb889
thb889
tkb4
tkb4
tkb4
tkb4
tkb4
tkb4
tkb4
tkb9
tkb9
tkb9
tkb9
tkb9
tkb9
tkb9
tkb33
tkb33
tkb33
tkb33
tkb33
tkb33
tkb33
finfinbet
finfinbet
finfinbet
finfinbet
finfinbet
finfinbet
finfinbet
TKB96
tkb96
tkb96
tkb96
tkb96
tkb96
tkb96
tkbfun
tkbfun
tkbfun
tkbfun
tkbfun
tkbfun
tkbfun
tkbpg
tkbpg
tkbpg
tkbpg
tkbpg
tkbpg
tkbpg
tkbpussy
tkbpussy
tkbpussy
tkbpussy
tkbpussy
tkbpussy
tkbpussy
tkbrich
tkbrich
tkbrich
tkbrich
tkbrich
tkbrich
tkbrich
tkbsexy
tkbsexy
tkbsexy
tkbsexy
tkbsexy
tkbsexy
tkb777
tkb777
tkb777
tkb777
tkb777
tkb777
tkb777
taokaebet
taokaebet
taokaebet
taokaebet
taokaebet
taokaebet
taokaebet
tkbsexy
tkbrich
tkbpussy
tkbpg
tkbfun
tkb96
tkb33
tkb9
tkb4
thb889
tkbking
tkb555
tkb365
changbet789
บาคาร่า
คาสิโนออนไลน์
sa gaming
คาสิโนออนไลน์สด
สล็อต
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต pg ซื้อฟรีสปิน
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
บาคาร่า
สล็อต เว็บตรงไม่ผ่านเอเย่นต์ไม่มีขั้นต่ำ
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
สล็อต
บาคาร่า
สล็อต
สล็อต
สล็อต
สล็อต
คาสิโน