FOLLOWING the attempt by the Nigerian chef, Hilda Baci, to beat the last Guinness World Records (GWR) of cooking for the longest hours, several Twitter accounts posing as Hilda has surfaced online.
Hilda Effiong Bassey, popularly known as Hilda Baci, had cooked for 100 hours, 40 minutes, thus surpassing the time set by the former holder of the record, Indian chef, Lata Tondon.
While Nigerians await the official declaration of winner by the GWR, many parody accounts have sprung up in the name of Hilda Baci to mislead the public. Hilda Effiong Bassey popularly known as Hilda Baci,
Recently, The FactCheckHub published a fact-check which exposes a doctored image that shows Hilda Baci posing with her Guinness World Records certificate.
READ : Doctored image of Hilda Baci holding Guinness World Record certificate circulates online after cook-a-thon
These accounts continue to gain attention and traction making it difficult to distinguish a false account from the real one despite Twitter’s policies for parody accounts.
PARODY ACCOUNTS ON TWITTER
Parody accounts on Twitter are usually named after popular personalities and organizations mainly for humourous or satirical purposes.
Although Twitter rules permit the use of parody accounts, certain requirements must be met.
One of the things required, according to Twitter owner, Elon Musk, is that the account name should clearly indicate that the account is not affiliated with the subject portrayed in the profile.
Though the rules are well stated, some accounts continue to outrightly flout them with the intention to mislead or swindle people.
The FactCheckHub decided to take a look at some fake accounts that have been created following Hilda Baci’s ”cook-a-thon” feat.
Hilda Baci has been trending on social media since the event started and has gathered momentum as several tweets associated with her Cook-a-thon spread on the social platform, Twitter, with the hashtag #Hildabaccicookathon.
There are tens of accounts on Twitter posing as Hilda Baci. Some of the Twitter accounts can be seen here, here, and here.
While some have indicated it to be a parody or fan account, the ones highlighted above have blatantly ignored to show the status of their account hence aiding the quick spread of misinformation during the cook-a-thon and thereafter.
A report published earlier by The FactCheckHub revealed how parody accounts are increasingly becoming subtle and powerful as informed, accurate, and trusted information is being manipulated giving room to misinformation.
So, what’s Hilda Baci’s real social media accounts?
Following the increasing influx of social media accounts posing as Hilda Baci, the Nigerian chef has publicly displayed her social media handles.
According to her, her only official Twitter page is: @hildabacicooks. Hilda also tweeted a disclaimer regarding parody accounts posing as hers.
On May 25, Baci had to post another disclaimer on her Twitter page, as seen below:
DISCLAIMER ‼️‼️‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/pCmKRUHlmQ
— Hilda Baci (@hildabacicooks) May 23, 2023
As the world waits for the official confirmation of the records, Hilda Baci’s official social media handles include; ”hildabaci” on Instagram, ”hildabacicooks” on Twitter, and ”hildabacicookathon” on TikTok.
HOW TO IDENTIFY A TWITTER PARODY ACCOUNT
With more than 368 million monthly active users worldwide, the micro-blogging site remains one of the most popular social media platforms.
Out of the 31.60 million social media users in Nigeria as of January 2023, according to Data Reportal, the numbers published in Twitter’s advertising resources indicate that Twitter had 4.95 million users in Nigeria in early 2023.
READ ALSO : Parody, Stan accounts fuelling misinformation in Nigeria
To avoid falling for parody accounts fuelling misinformation on Twitter, here are some tips to help you identify Twitter parody accounts:
- Account bio: Looking at the display name, profile picture, and spelling of the name on the handle can help you to distinguish between a real and a parody account.
- Account tone: The tone of a piece of writing for most parody accounts appears unorganized with too many unrelated and funny contents.
- Follow ratio: Most parody accounts usually have fewer followers than the real account being imitated.
To curb the spread of misinformation, it is important to do your due diligence before believing information seen on Twitter accounts suspected to be a parody.