And the real Alec Robertson is? Twitter leader spoof revealed
After months of anxious speculation the West Briton can finally reveal the identity of the person behind a fake Twitter account in the name of the leader of Cornwall Council.
A Liberal Democrat town councillor from St Austell has inadvertently revealed himself as the man behind the AlecRobertson1 account.
The fake account on the social networking site has caused huge consternation in the corridors of County Hall but the leadership has been powerless to stop the parody.
But while the main perpetrator has been identified he told the West Briton he was not acting alone.
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The @AlecRobertson1 account would send out tweets with nuggets such as: "And my Spice Girl of the day is Emma Bunton. She nearly became one of #AlecsAngels and still influences my leadership."
But a slip of the fingers has revealed the fake account to come from a man who describes himself as "a St Austell-based wannabe politician".
Nick Cook tweeted from his @cornishnickc account this afternoon: "I am afraid that it is likely I will lose another cabinet member by the end of the week. Ah well,at least there are still ten who are loyal."
The tweet was identical in tone to those put out from the AlecRobertson1 account. Twitter users can have different profiles and it is possible for users to forget which profile they are operating from.
Mr Cook said: "I have been involved in the Alec Robertson account but others are also involved in compiling the tweets - three others.
"It's not a political thing - it's just lighthearted humour."
Mr Cook said a new phone had caused the slip-up and the account was removed from Twitter at about 4.30pm today.
He said the account was set up in response to threats from the leader of Cornwall Council to ban the use of Twitter from council meetings. The Twitter account has since been removed.
Cornwall Council did not respond to the revelation.
Mr Cook said: "I would hope that Cornwall Council would appreciate the humour and the biography was very clear it was a parody."
The commentary from AlecRobertson1 has undoubtedly entertained social media users in Cornwall and beyond. Journalists were suspected of being behind the fake profile but this now seems not to be the case.
The possible revelation comes at a good time for Mr Robertson who will be fighting for his political life in a vote of no confidence on Tuesday.
Comments
by SmokieJoe
Sunday, October 14 2012, 9:17PM
“You might think it's funny, I don't. Did he use his own name? No. Did he do it once and come forward to make clear his position in it? No. Did he try to spread the blame as soon as he was found out? Yes!!!
Humour in politics is acceptable, if you are prepared to stand up and make your own part clear. Hiding behind a false identity (then trying to grass other people up) is cowardly.”
by SallyC
Thursday, October 11 2012, 10:07PM
“Ditto what Blue said. A sense of humour badly needed here. It's FUNNY! Some people need to be able to smile at themselves.”
by SallyC
Thursday, October 11 2012, 9:59PM
“Ditto to what Blue said. It's FUNNY! Politicians need to develop a sense of humour and be able to laugh at themselves. Just read the news to see things that really matter.”
by Blue1
Thursday, October 11 2012, 8:20PM
“You miss the point! This was a parody which was clearly not the real man right from the start. There was no hi-jacKing or mis-representation. The only thing that it caused was some smiles on some politicians faces. Shame there isn't a bit more humour in politics - maybe more young people would engage in it!!”
by SmokieJoe
Thursday, October 11 2012, 5:51PM
“Too many people causing problems on social media through hi-jacking accounts and mis-representing others. This should be an end to any political ambitions this self declared "wanabee politician" has. He should stand down from St Austell Town Council immediately, not the kind of character people would want supposedly speaking on their behalf.”
by SmokieJoe
Thursday, October 11 2012, 5:47PM
“I don't have a very high regard for Alec Robertson, but I don't think mis-representing anyone on social media is funny. I hope this puts paid to any hopes this self declared "wannabe politician" has of representing anyone and he should stand down from St Austell Town Council immediately.”