Hundreds of FAKE social media handles pushing TMC narrative for Goa Elections 2022

PANAJI: Hundreds, if not thousands of fake social media handles, IDs and accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms have sprung up over the last two weeks, which are plugging and pushing the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) narrative across the coastal state of Goa, as the international tourism destination gears up for the Assembly polls in February, early next year.

Facebook fake IDs like Anika Patel, Feroz Don and more than 20 others are setting the SM narrative for the TMC in Goa.

Edward Almeida, a spokesperson for the apolitical Goan social forum Lokhancho Ekvott, which has taken upon itself to identify and flag fake social media accounts and propaganda, pending the Goa State Assembly polls says, “the TMC has launched hundreds if not thousands of fake Facebook accounts as it prepares for West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s maiden visit to Goa on the 28th of October. It is comparatively easy to spot these fake accounts because they either have non Goan names or the Goan names are spelt wrongly. For example, John is spelt as Jhon or Jone,” Almeida explained, adding that Lokhancho Ekvott volunteers are flagging and reporting all the fake accounts to the respective platforms.

The fake accounts have nearly 30 percent or more non-Goan ‘friends’ on their friend lists and are tagged or shared by similar “fake accounts,” says Almeida, adding that if you spot one fake account, all you need to do is check which accounts are sharing its posts to dig out more fakes.

As parties like the TMC are alien to Goa and do not have a presence here for long, they are poaching on leaders from other parties. Many workers have joined the TMC only for money, hoping they can make a quick buck in the next few months. But this does not get them a deep, genuine voter or sympathizer base, forcing them to only rely on fake accounts to promote their propaganda.