Latest news with #TwitterBlue
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Post from parody account was not shared on X by Kenya's President William Ruto
'Why is being like this? (sic),' reads a Facebook post published on May 2, 2024. Included is a screenshot of what appears to be a post published on X by Ruto. It reads: 'Dear World Bank @WorldBank, We respectfully seek clarity on reports of one of your employees engaging in Kenyan political matters. What guidelines govern staff participation in sovereign state affairs? (sic)'. Part of the screenshot shows a 2027 presidential campaign poster with a photo of Matiang'i. The screenshot was also shared here, here and here on Facebook. The claim was posted a day after Matiang'i officially declared his intentions to run for president in 2027. He was at a rally in Kisii County, where he hails from (archived here). He also announced that he would be resigning from the World Bank to focus on his bid to unseat Ruto, who is aiming for a second term. Matiang'i previously served in the Kenyan cabinet from 2013 to 2022 as the head of various ministries. During his time as interior minister, he fell out with then deputy president Ruto, who alleged that Matiang'i was using his position and state resources to obstruct his 2022 presidential ambitions (archived here). Former president Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee party recently endorsed Matiang'i as its 2027 presidential candidate (archived here). However, the claim that Ruto used X to question Matiang'i's eligibility to run in 2027 is misleading. Using keywords from the screenshot, AFP Fact Check established that the post was originally published by an X account under the username 'H.E President William Ruto (Commentary)' (archived here). Dear World Bank @WorldBank,We respectfully seek clarity on reports of one of your employees engaging in Kenyan political matters. What guidelines govern staff participation in sovereign state affairs?cc: @ — H.E President William Ruto (Commentary) (@WilliamsMkenya) May 1, 2025 A comparison between the 'commentary' account and Ruto's official X account highlights key differences. Ruto uses the username '@WilliamsRuto' and his bio describes him as the 'President of The Republic of Kenya'. He has 6.9 million followers and includes a link to the government website ' His account was created in July 2011 and primarily shares formal presidential updates. It has a grey checkmark reserved for authentic government institutions and public figures verified by X. In contrast, the account referenced in the claim was created in 2016, has about 609,000 followers and mainly shares fan-based praise of Ruto and support for the government. It includes a 'parody/commentary' disclaimer in the bio, with the word 'parody' written in Russian. The account has a blue checkmark, indicating that it is subscribed to X Premium (formerly Twitter Blue), which any user who pays and meets basic eligibility requirements can get. The parody account mimics Ruto's official account by using the same profile picture and a banner image from Ruto's swearing-in ceremony. We found no record of Ruto publishing X posts about Matiang'i's 2027 presidential bid.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Post from parody account was not shared on X by Kenya's President William Ruto
'Why is being like this? (sic),' reads a Facebook post published on May 2, 2024. Included is a screenshot of what appears to be a post published on X by Ruto. It reads: 'Dear World Bank @WorldBank, We respectfully seek clarity on reports of one of your employees engaging in Kenyan political matters. What guidelines govern staff participation in sovereign state affairs? (sic)'. Part of the screenshot shows a 2027 presidential campaign poster with a photo of Matiang'i. The screenshot was also shared here, here and here on Facebook. The claim was posted a day after Matiang'i officially declared his intentions to run for president in 2027. He was at a rally in Kisii County, where he hails from (archived here). He also announced that he would be resigning from the World Bank to focus on his bid to unseat Ruto, who is aiming for a second term. Matiang'i previously served in the Kenyan cabinet from 2013 to 2022 as the head of various ministries. During his time as interior minister, he fell out with then deputy president Ruto, who alleged that Matiang'i was using his position and state resources to obstruct his 2022 presidential ambitions (archived here). Former president Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee party recently endorsed Matiang'i as its 2027 presidential candidate (archived here). However, the claim that Ruto used X to question Matiang'i's eligibility to run in 2027 is misleading. Using keywords from the screenshot, AFP Fact Check established that the post was originally published by an X account under the username 'H.E President William Ruto (Commentary)' (archived here). A comparison between the 'commentary' account and Ruto's official X account highlights key differences. Ruto uses the username '@WilliamsRuto' and his bio describes him as the 'President of The Republic of Kenya'. He has 6.9 million followers and includes a link to the government website ' His account was created in July 2011 and primarily shares formal presidential updates. It has a grey checkmark reserved for authentic government institutions and public figures verified by X. In contrast, the account referenced in the claim was created in 2016, has about 609,000 followers and mainly shares fan-based praise of Ruto and support for the government. It includes a 'parody/commentary' disclaimer in the bio, with the word 'parody' written in Russian. The account has a blue checkmark, indicating that it is subscribed to X Premium (formerly Twitter Blue), which any user who pays and meets basic eligibility requirements can get. The parody account mimics Ruto's official account by using the same profile picture and a banner image from Ruto's swearing-in ceremony. We found no record of Ruto publishing X posts about Matiang'i's 2027 presidential bid.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Yahoo
Ole Miss Student Says Online Rumors Sparked Death Threats and Harassment
A University of Mississippi student is speaking out after college sports accounts on X (formerly Twitter) , Instagram, and TikTok allegedly began spreading rumors about her sex life — stoking what she calls a 'deliberate and coordinated' online harassment campaign. Mary Kate Cornett, a Kappa Delta Sorority at Ole Miss (a nickname of the school), began trending last week after several anonymous accounts on X shared screenshots alleging Cornett had an illicit affair with her boyfriend's father. Many of the accounts are verified on X, which can be purchased alongside a Twitter Blue subscription and prioritizes content on the platform. Additional accounts joined in the discussion, spreading Cornett's name and personal information around the app until she became a trending topic on X. Unknown individuals also used her name to start a memecoin — cryptocurrency based on viral names or trends. People have used Cornett's name as a joke and a derogatory insult, calling the student misogynistic and sexually violent things. More from Rolling Stone 'There's Still A Lot of Pain': Ruby Franke's Husband Speaks Out for the First Time Dylan Mulvaney Wanted to Write About Girlhood. Then She Had to Grow Up Fast TikTok Users Can't Find the Beat to Hilary Duff's 'Come Clean' 'I have been the victim of a deliberate and coordinated cyberattack spreading categorically false and defamatory information. Partially and wholly edited screenshots, fake AI generated videos and manipulated photographs have been promoted by irresponsible social media participants and amplified by thousands of fake accounts,' Cornett said in a statement Thursday. 'Most alarmingly, my personal contact information has been doxed and illegally shared publicly, putting my personal safety at risk. I have received thousands of harassing calls and texts of a sick and demented nature, some of which suggest I even take my own life.' In addition to the X accounts, the Ole Miss student also called out sports journalists and influencers who she says spread the rumor on their platforms. ESPN's College GameDay host Pat McAfee mentioned the story in a recent episode of The Pat McAfee Show and Barstool Sports host Kevin Clancy shared a video about it on his X account. 'Not to be outdone by the Bots, irresponsible independent social media influencers with apparent ties to Barstool Sports and even major public figures like Antonio Brown and Pat McAfee who hosts ESPN's College Game Day have shared these utter and complete lies with zero interest in the truth, but instead spreading outlandish conjecture,' Cornett added. 'No one affiliated with these organizations ever reached out to us for comment.' Representatives for McAfee and Brown did not respond to Rolling Stone's request for comment. Barstool owner Dave Portnoy denied involvement. 'Barstool Sports did not mention or spread this rumor on any of our Barstool owned channels,' he said in a statement to Rolling Stone. 'Our editors instinctively made the decision to avoid this story as it seemed there was a high likelihood it could have been fabricated. I do know one of our employees posted something on their personal socials but we don't control those.' In an accompanying statement, Cornett's father, Justin Cornett, called the rumors a 'categorically false, malicious, organized and defamatory cyber attack' that he believes began as a fraternity prank. 'I refuse to let my family be targeted and am fully committed to pursuing all criminal and civil actions available,' he said. 'To those responsible, we will find you.' Cornett's family has also set up a GoFundMe they say will go to starting a foundation for 'helping innocent victims' of similar online campaigns. 'My heart breaks for the victims of defamatory cyber attacks and public doxing like this. The pain and heartbreak is immense,' Cornett said. 'These lies have affected my family, my friends, my social organizations and school administrators. Ultimately, I have confidence we will get through this and ask for any and all support while our family and others affected slowly heal.' Best of Rolling Stone Every Super Bowl Halftime Show, Ranked From Worst to Best The United States of Weed Gaming Levels Up
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How Did an Online Crypto Casino Take Over Twitter?
Prior to Elon Musk's takeover of X (formerly Twitter), the app was a wildly popular social media site known for throwing everything from the latest breaking news to the newest memes all on the same constantly refreshing timeline. Now, it's an ad- and bot-ridden playground for far-right posters — and nothing shows it downfall more than this inescapable scourge: Stake ads. Stake is an app that allows users to bet on sports events and in online casinos using cryptocurrency. Since startup founders Edward Crave and Bijan Tehrani first launched the site in Australia in 2017, Stake has continued to expand into other countries' markets — including building out operations in the U.K. and Europe — while remaining illegal in the U.S. But in the past two years, users have begun to notice advertisements for the casino taking up a sizable amount of space online. More from Rolling Stone Peter Thiel, Trump's Man in Silicon Valley Elon Musk Faces Suits From Ashley St. Clair Over Paternity and Custody of Their Alleged Child Elon Musk Says He'll Fire Every Federal Worker Who Ignores His Email Some of the biggest meme accounts on X have begun running dozens of Stake ads every day — posting the logo on viral jokes and stolen videos. When 404 media reported on the trend in November, they noted that undisclosed advertisements for gambling went against X's content guidelines, which explicitly prohibit ads from casinos and online houses domiciled in another country. (Stake is operated out of Cyprus.) Worse, posts that disclose they are a Stake ad have a Community Note explaining what Stake is, and often linking to the website itself, giving the brand that much more prominence on X. On its own, the Stake meme campaign appears to be an attempt from the online casino to gain prevalence and more users in the process. But alongside the degradation of X's content, Stake ads are more than annoying — they're the current face of true digital slop. And people are tired of it. It's unclear if Stake owns these X accounts outright or is paying the users to tweet content with the Stake logo. (The press email for does not work and the company did not respond to Rolling Stone's request for comment through its support email.) The meme accounts that tweet the ads usually include the Stake handle in their bios. But the ads have taken X's shaky infrastructure and content-farm feeling from bad to unbearable. Musk's Twitter Blue program, which allows anyone to purchase a blue verification check mark, also prioritizes posts from users with check marks, meaning spam accounts often get thousands of eyes on content they've ripped from other viral accounts. Owen Carry wrote for Slate that Stake's marketing work with meme accounts is not only legally murky but an 'amorphous advertising campaign that ignores international borders and the gambling laws that exist within them.' Stake's meme farming isn't its only attempt at marketing and virality. In the U.K., the crypto casino became the white-label sponsor of Premier League football club Everton in 2022. But according to the Athletic, Stake left the U.K. market entirely in Feb. 2025 after the country's Gambling Commission launched an investigation into Stake's advertising practices. The investigation began because of a stake ad on X — more specifically a viral repost of a picture of porn star Bonnie Blue with the Stake logo slapped on. And just last week, a video spread online of a drone flying up to rapper Drake's Australian penthouse. The clip shoes Drake throwing a shoe at the camera, attempting to knock it down — but a closer look at the open laptop also in frame shows a blurry image of the Stake website. The rapper seemingly confirmed the collaboration within minutes, posting the video on Instagram alongside a photo of himself in a Stake logo shirt. After several Redditors alleged that a member of their subreddit owned and operated multiple meme accounts that posted Stake ads, Musk warned against the practice. 'Platform manipulation by buying large follower accounts and then using them to push paid narratives/scams will result in the annihilation of those accounts,' he wrote on X. 'Moreover, if a crime is involved, 𝕏 will prosecute to the full extent of the law. DON'T DO IT.' While the warning was emphatic — and the accounts linked to the scheme were suspended — newer meme accounts promoting Stake have continued to pop up on the site. The result is that Stake ads have become ubiquitous on X — a constant cycle of stolen posts and hijacked memes that make the scrolling experience feel like a claustrophobic nightmare of gambling advertisements for an operation that doesn't even operate in the country. It's not unexpected considering Musk notably told advertisers in early 2024 to 'go fuck [themselves]' and has since hemorrhaged revenue. But combined with the site's continual bend towards misinformation, or just outright AI garbage, Stake ads feel like another downward step — a constantly recycling of internet clutter that's so clearly half hearted it feels like looking or scrolling past produce the same result: a waste of time. Best of Rolling Stone Every Super Bowl Halftime Show, Ranked From Worst to Best The United States of Weed Gaming Levels Up
