This archive report was first published on 3 December 2019.
Miguna's Twitter Tussle: A Lesson in Verification ¶
On December 2, 2019, Miguna Miguna engaged in a heated argument with a Twitter account bearing the name of Central Organization of Trade Unions (Cotu) secretary-general Francis Atwoli.
The parody account, @sg_atwoli, tweeted: "#KOT Youths must be very shallow to think that constitutions are written by youths. The American constitution which is one of the oldest in the world was prepared by old men and they never consulted the youths."
Miguna responded by describing Atwoli as a 'despotic zombie' and accusing him of being illiterate.
However, it was later revealed that the account @sg_atwoli was a fake, and Miguna had been engaging with a parody account.
As news of the exchange spread, many took to Twitter to express their thoughts on the matter, with some defending Miguna's actions and others criticizing him for engaging with a fake account.
One Twitter user, @LoloAles, wrote: "One word for Mugabe Atwoli" while another user, @DonaldBKipkorir, criticized Miguna for being 'mentally insane'.
Despite the controversy, Miguna celebrated his 'victory' in chasing the fake Atwoli account off Twitter.
