Just days following President Medvedev's first Twitter post, a fake account called "KermlinRussia" (which can be found
here) appeared, attracting nearly 1,500 followers, says
Reuters.
By Monday, the fake account had produced 130 tweets, most of which had reacted to President Medvedev's tweets on the real KremlinRussia page.
Since Russian media outlets are often subject to state pressure, the Internet is one of the few real options that many in Russia have to freely express themselves politically or criticize their government.
Many of the mock account's tweets have mocked the President's modernization efforts, saying that they are doomed by corruption and bureaucracy.
Reuters reports that one tweet read:
One needs to understand that money given to modernization and innovation will be spent on corruption and swindling.
Reuters added that another tweet read that a high-tech hub near Moscow would be a haven for more traditional businesses, such as gambling and prostitution.
Some of the tweets criticized the President himself, including a reference to an apparently daily ritual of stopping traffic to let the president's convoy run through the city.
A Kremlin representative, speaking anonymously, said that the president's administration does not plan on taking any action to eliminate the account. According to
Reuters, The representative said:
I think sober people are able to distinguish between the real account and an (imposter). The official account is easy to distinguish by the 'verified account' check mark.
