The presidency has removed a number of Facebook pages claiming to be that of president Jacob Zuma.
In a statement issued by the office of the presidency yesterday, it said: “Any supposed Jacob Zuma page on Facebook is fake and run by imposters. The presidency has, with the help of Facebook managers, removed some of these fake pages.”
One such fake page that had over 20 000 fans is nowhere to be found this morning. The pages that remain do not have a significant following, with the largest non-official group “Dear Mr President: Jacob Zuma”, with just over 2 000 fans.
Optimum communication
The presidency says it entered the social media sphere to ensure communication “is at an optimum level”.
“Social media has improved communication with the citizens of SA and beyond. While this offers opportunities, it is also fraught with pitfalls. One of these is the prevalence of fake accounts that purport to speak on behalf of president Jacob Zuma and the presidency,” said a statement.
“President Zuma does not have a personal Facebook account and is reachable through the presidency Facebook page and his personal Twitter account only.”
The presidency also now has a presence on YouTube and Flickr.
“The presidency welcomes the growing interest in its social media accounts and will continue to use these to reach the public,” it says.
As the @PresidencyZA tweeted the updates on the president's social media presence yesterday, some followers responded saying: “All the presidency needs now is a BBM PIN, a Skype address and an iTunes account.”
Share