Izuchukwu Okosi
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By Izuchukwu Okosi
Join our WhatsApp ChannelItalian journalist Tommasso Debenedetti known for his fake news on social media has deleted his account after raising false alarm over the death of South African celebrated clergy, Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Author and schoolteacher Debenedetti once declared that his antics is geared is meant “to show how easy it is to fool the press in the era of social media.”
Within 40 minutes of posting the first tweet claiming Tutu’s death, the account claimed that the person behind it was indeed Debenedetti.
“This account is a hoax created by Italian journalist Tommasso Debenedetti,” the account posted.
According to a Wikipedia page, Debenedetti has, since 2011, created fake Twitter accounts of famous world personalities, spreading fake news.
“Other Debenedetti Twitter hoaxes were picked by important news sources, fooling many newspapers,” including The New York Times, The Guardian and USA Today, reads the Wikipedia page.
In response to the news of Tutu’s alleged death, the Tutu Legacy Foundation tweeted: “The Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation can confirm that this is not true, it is fake news. @TheDesmondTutu as well as Mrs Leah Tutu are still with us. Thank you.”
The efforts to reach the Italian by top media organisations proved abortive.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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