World Wide Web technology is playing a bigger and bigger role in our lives, particularly in the way we get our news. And social media, especially Twitter, has played a huge role in Donald Trump’s candidacy as he used it as a weapon against his opponents. Twitter continues to be his primary means of conversation with the public.
But in the past few weeks, we have seen clear evidence that Twitter has turned out to be a double-edged sword for President Trump. He is getting back as good as he dishes out with his tweets, as he uses social media to disseminate his versions of the truth and what he thinks the public should be allowed to hear.
Because of executive memos and orders forbidding the dissemination of information, travel from Muslim countries and the fear of additional rules and regulations Trump might impose to meet his campaign promises, quite a number of rogue federal agency Twitter accounts have been set-up, all claiming to be “the unofficial resistance team” of whatever agency they represent.
The latest Twitter account, called @RoguePOTUSStaff, claims to be “the unofficial resistance team inside the White House.” It states, “We will not reveal our identity to anyone! The only way to keep a secret is to keep it secret!”
The @RoguePOTUSStaff feed featured a tweet that read: “When well-intended patriots disagree, that’s democracy. When POTUS says it’s not fact until he approves it, that’s tyranny.”
The tweets are being taken seriously because the official users of the account have received several messages from Twitter wanting to know if they had forgotten their passwords, reports the Daily Mail. They stated: “This is starting to get scary. Four of these messages in the inbox today. Not indications yet that POTUS is aware of this acct, but someone is.”
There is no way to verify the legitimacy of the rogue Twitter account, even though it appears to mirror what is happening in the Oval Office in real time. But as a journalist, I must warn readers to be alert to what could possibly be “fake news” or “alternative facts.”
The thing is, if there is really a whistle-blower on the White House staff, it is strange that they would risk being found out by using a fake Twitter account instead of going to a legitimate news source like the New York Times or Reuters.
The Intelligencer puts all this into a somewhat clearer picture, writing: “If the account is fake, it’s a highly entertaining and informed parody. If it turns out to be legitimately run by White House staffers, then it could ultimately play a part in chronicling the history of America and paints a picture of a highly chaotic White House.”
Ahh, don’t you just love what’s happening in American politics?