Legal Drama

WARNING: False Impersonation of Twitter Account Username is a Crime – Professor Wole Soyinka Angry Over @ProfSoyinka’s “Dangerous Game Of Impersonation” on Twitter

Professor Wole Soyinka a Nobel Laureate and respected name on local and global circles is very angry over what he has called a “dangerous game of impersonation” of his identity on Twitter. The Account titled @ProfSoyinka has over 16,000 followers and has been tweeting about the #OccupyNigeria nationwide strike.

Professor Soyinka has released the following official statement as of today as reported by newsmedia:

A Dangerous Game Of Impersonation!

Once again, taking advantage of a situation of national unrest, some unscrupulous individuals have taken to circulating comments, often of a most distasteful, uncouth and unprincipled nature, in my name.

I wish to inform the public that I do not Tweet, Blog, Facebook etc. etc. My public statements are signed and/or go through authorized channels that the media recognize and can authenticate where in doubt. Any electronic message that purports to emanate from me for general circulation through Mobile phones or Internet should be taken as a complete concoction, in most cases by deranged minds with their private and sick agenda.

I must remind the public that these are not normal times, and that extreme caution and personal responsibility are needed. It is no time to be taken in by spurious propaganda by cowards who cannot speak in their own voices or acknowledge the names given to them at birth or even acquired during their nefarious careers.
Even more than the nausea one feels by being subjected to such identity embezzlement is the danger it poses generally, since it is certain that there are others who are similarly afflicted.

One hopes therefore that the Security services , when called upon to assist in tracking down these felons, will recognise this goes beyond individual clamour and will act promptly, not only in unmasking, but in prosecuting them as befit criminal minds with the capacity for incalculable damage to an already fragile social fabric.

Wole Soyinka (Prof)

What do you do if Your Identity is Falsely Impersonated?

1. Celebrities, Industry people and just general audience reading this, if you are being impersonated on twitter or other social media platforms there are several steps to take:

a) Release an official press statement  denouncing the statements, account and account user purporting to be yours.

b) Contact Twitter or applicable social media corporate companies to alert them and have them shutdown the account. The terms and services of Twitter prohibit criminal conduct and/or illegal activities and is explicit about false impersonations.

c)Finally, work with Twitter/ Facebook and the Police in your respective states and countries to help with investigations to apprehend the culprit so they can be arrested and charged.

Is @ProfSoyinka a Parody?

Both under US and Nigerian criminal laws, falsely impersonating the identity of another to gain a personal benefit or harm another is a crime.

@ProfSoyinka account user has argued that the account is a Parody and there is a clear disclaimer that states the following:

“NOT WOLE SOYINKA

@profSoyinka  NIGERIA
This page is not in any way related to the Literature Giant Prof Wole Soyinka, its just a Parody Account !
Is it or isn’t it a Parody?

Here is Twitter’s policy on Parody:

Parody, Commentary, and Fan Accounts Policy

Twitter users are allowed to create parody, commentary, or fan accounts (including role-playing). Twitter provides a platform for its users to share and receive a wide range of ideas and content, and we greatly value and respect our users’ expression. Because of these principles, we do not actively monitor users’ content and will not edit or remove user content, except in cases of violations of our Terms of Service.

Each user is responsible for the content that they provide. Accounts with clear intent to deceive or confuse are prohibited as impersonation accounts and subject to suspension. Please see our guidelines for reporting impersonation for information on filing an impersonation complaint.

Guidelines for Parody, Commentary and Fan Accounts

In order to avoid impersonation, an account’s profile information should make it clear that the creator of the account is not actually the same person or entity as the subject of the parody/commentary. Here are some suggestions for marking your account:

Username: The username should not be the exact name of the subject of the parody, commentary, or fandom; to make it clearer, you should distinguish the account with a qualifier such as “not,” “fake,” or “fan.”

Name: The profile name should not list the exact name of the subject without some other distinguishing word, such as “not,” “fake,” or “fan.”

Bio: The bio should include a statement to distinguish it from the real identity, such as “This is a parody,” “This is a fan page,” “Parody Account,” “Fan Account,” “Role-playing Account,” or “This is not affiliated with…”

Communication with other users: The account should not, through private or public communication with other users, try to deceive or mislead others about your identity. For example, if operating a fan account, do not direct message other users implying you are the actual subject (i.e., person, band, sports team, etc.) of the fan account.

Role-Playing: Twitter allows role-playing accounts. If you are operating a role-playing account that may include inflammatory or controversial topics, we suggest that you add a clarification to your bio, such as “role-playing,” in addition to complying with our best practices.

My view

Calling something a parody does not make it a parody. In fact this is a very dicey area of the law where those claiming “parody” have a weak footing. Given the use of Wole Soyinka’s name, image, link to a google.com/WoleSoyinka account and tweets of a political nature with a name of a  man who is known to be very vocal and political about Nigeria’s socio-political and economic issues, it is hard to get around the false impersonation criminal conduct alleged by Professor Soyinka towards @ProfSoyinka Twitter user. The account and tweets are also  quite inflammatory and a threat to national security for Nigeria, in my view.

Professor  Soyinka is a respected voice and leader within and outside Nigeria. If he is saying awful and inflammatory things about his country during this nationwide strike, it could incite Nigerian citizens, especially youths, to start a riot leading to a civil war. A civil war in Nigeria hurts everyone including Americans. Americans expect gas prices to go up at the gas pumps, if Nigeria’s nationwide strike gets ugly. Let’s hope it doesn’t.

Further, the disclaimer on the profile page of @ProfSoyinka does not get around the fact that once a tweet is sent, unless the thousands of persons seeing it click the hyperlinked username associated with the tweet, they will think or be misled to believe it is Professor Soyinka. @ProfSoyinka  fails the “communication with other users” and the “name”,username” policies/guidelines enunciated by twitter. @ProfSoyinka is also using the account for his/her benefits. The account has gained over 16,000 followers in a short period of time. But for using the famed Professor’s name, will the user have amassed such amount of users?

Conclusion: There is nothing “parodic” about this, even from Twitter’s own policy. Falsely assuming the identity of another is a crime. There is no if, buts and ands to this matter.

This case is addressed from a criminal law perspective.

From a Civil litigation perspective, in the USA, for my USA readers, there are many causes of actions that can be filed when someone falsely impersonates you for their benefit or to harm you. Depending on the facts, the claims can range from:

1. Federal violation of the Lanham (Trademark) Act

2. Unfair competition

2. Right of Publicity

4. Invasion of Privacy

5. Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, among many claims.

AML Further Recommended Reading:

AML’s Genevieve Nnaji’s Right of Publicity Case where she allegedly took$20.00 from fans in exchange for picture.

The Twitter False Impersonation Case of Jill Maremont v. Susan Fredman Design Group: Employer falsely impersonates and tweets under employee’s twitter account while she was in hospital for nine months. Employee finds out and sued. The employer files a motion (legal documents) asking the court to dismiss the case at its early sate in the trial process. The employer argued the employer was just doing the employee’s job pending when the employee returned. The court rejected the argument.

-Uduak

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1 Comment

  1. Benyamin Solomon says:

    The user made it clear that it’s a parody account. Names can be used for parody. That is legal. So there you go.

Comments are closed.