Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka on Tuesday morning flagged a fake twitter account impersonating him. According to the Senator, the fake account is spreading malicious information with a view to promote propaganda.
Through a post on X, the lawmaker urged his followers to ignore and report the account.
“The page below raising malicious information on X in my name is fake and unauthentic, being operated by an irresponsible imposter!” he shared.
Senator Onyonka speculated the account is operated by his adversaries aiming to spread fake news and misinformation.
The account, that at a quick glance looks like that of Senator Onyonka has a huge following making it difficult for anyone not to believe it is authentic.
Onyonka’s official account on the contrary has 40,000 followers and bears his picture, though not verified with a blue tick.
Senator Onyonka who was elected under the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party ticket has been at the forefront of calling out the Kenya Kwanza government to shape up and deliver on the manifesto they promised on Kenyans in 2022 general elections.
It is not the first time a fake account is flagged off by public figures as well as institutions. It is a testament to the rising rates of cybercrimes and dissemination of fake news.
The flagging off by Senator Onyonka comes barely a month after the National Police Service (NPS) exposed several social media accounts disseminating information purporting to be of Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja.
The Police Service on October 5, unmasked the identities of five Facebook accounts which were impersonating IG Douglas Kanja appealing to netizens to avoid the fake accounts as they are operated with malicious intentions.
Institutions in the past have not been spared by fake accounts sharing misleading and often fake news. Early this year on February, Kenya Railways flagged four mobile applications which are reportedly used to swindle Kenyans in making Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) bookings.
In a notice, the corporation highlighted that fraudsters had created the apps to impersonate the transport provider and dupe Kenyans with fake SGR services which unfortunately some Kenyans fell to.
