Thursday, January 5, 2012

Cuban media blame Twitter for Castro death rumour

Cuban media blame Twitter for Castro death rumour
Last updated 05:00 06/01/2012

Cuban state media has accused the social networking site Twitter of
helping spread a rumour that former leader Fidel Castro had died, and
criticised anti-Castro expatriates it dubbed "necrophiliac
counter-revolutionaries" for jumping on the story.

An article on the state-run Cubadebate website accused Twitter of
allowing an account holder with the sign-on "Naroh" to start the rumour
this week from an Italian server, then quickly deactivate the account.

It said Twitter then helped spread the disinformation by allowing the
hash tag "fidelcastro" to become a trending topic. It briefly became the
fourth most popular in the world as it drew many more people to the subject.

The site also accused Twitter of censoring subjects in the past that
were in favour of the Cuban government.

There was no immediate reaction from Twitter.

Rumours that a celebrity or other public figure is dead are common on
social media sites and can spread quickly because of their nature.

Cubadebate also blamed anti-Castro expatriates anxious to see Castro's
demise for gleefully furthering the rumour, saying "necrophiliac
counter-revolutionaries, aided by some media, immediately started to party".

Castro, 85, turned power over to his brother Raul in 2006 during an
illness that nearly killed him. He is officially retired, although he
occasionally publishes opinion columns.

In recent months, Castro has alluded to the limits of age but has also
taken pride in his longevity. Cuba boasts that along with besting the
actuarial tables, the former Cuban leader has survived hundreds of
assassination attempts at the hands of his enemies in the United States.

Cubadebate noted that a false story about Castro's demise was spread on
the internet and elsewhere back in August.

On that occasion, there was even a computer virus embedded in a spam
email titled "Fidel is Dead", which featured a doctored, grainy
photograph of the former Cuban leader that appeared to show him lying in
a coffin.

As usual, the Cuban government has declined to make any official comment
about Castro's health. But the former leader hasn't been silent. On
December 31, he sent a get-well letter to a Cuban baseball star that was
read over state television.

Cubadebate on Wednesday reiterated a refrain it used the last time the
Castro rumours began, saying that the latest hubbub was spread by
"people inventing things in the virtual world that even the CIA could
not accomplish in real life".

http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/6218745/Cuban-media-blame-Twitter-for-Castro-death-rumour

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