As Kenyan media continues to report on alleged divisions in the ruling Jubilee Party, some social media users are raising the bar.
One posted a screenshot of what looks like a tweet by deputy president William Ruto, saying he would be leaving the political party.
It reads: “I will be leaving Jubilee to revive URP. We have had unresolvable issues with The President and it is only fair to quit. I wish my Brother President Uhuru all the best in the remainder of his term. It was both humbling and honour to serve with you, cheers!”
The Jubilee Party was formed in September 2016 from the merger of smaller parties, including the National Alliance led by current president Uhuru Kenyatta and the United Republican Party, or URP, led by Ruto.
Has Ruto announced on Twitter that he will be leaving Jubilee to revive his old party?
There are a number of hints that the tweet is not real. The Twitter username in the screenshot does not include an “@” symbol. It is “WilliamsRuto”, not “@WilliamsRuto”.
And if the tweet was by Ruto, it would have become the main focus of local media.
The date shown is “04 Jan 20”. On Twitter, the date is given in the order of month, day and year, with the year written in full: “2020”, not “20”. For example, a real tweet from Ruto’s official Twitter account gives the date as “Jan 12, 2020”.
Another hint that this tweet is fake is the way the number of “likes” and “retweets” are written. On Twitter, thousands are shown with the letter “K”. So the “3221 retweets” and “8269 likes” in the screenshot would display as “3.2K Retweets” and “8.3K Likes” in a genuine tweet.
The supposed tweet can’t be found in an advanced Twitter search. The deputy president did not tweet on 4 January 2020. Despite media reports, Ruto still maintains that the Jubilee Party is intact. – Dancan Bwire
One posted a screenshot of what looks like a tweet by deputy president William Ruto, saying he would be leaving the political party.
It reads: “I will be leaving Jubilee to revive URP. We have had unresolvable issues with The President and it is only fair to quit. I wish my Brother President Uhuru all the best in the remainder of his term. It was both humbling and honour to serve with you, cheers!”
The Jubilee Party was formed in September 2016 from the merger of smaller parties, including the National Alliance led by current president Uhuru Kenyatta and the United Republican Party, or URP, led by Ruto.
Has Ruto announced on Twitter that he will be leaving Jubilee to revive his old party?
Manipulated image
There are a number of hints that the tweet is not real. The Twitter username in the screenshot does not include an “@” symbol. It is “WilliamsRuto”, not “@WilliamsRuto”.
And if the tweet was by Ruto, it would have become the main focus of local media.
The date shown is “04 Jan 20”. On Twitter, the date is given in the order of month, day and year, with the year written in full: “2020”, not “20”. For example, a real tweet from Ruto’s official Twitter account gives the date as “Jan 12, 2020”.
Another hint that this tweet is fake is the way the number of “likes” and “retweets” are written. On Twitter, thousands are shown with the letter “K”. So the “3221 retweets” and “8269 likes” in the screenshot would display as “3.2K Retweets” and “8.3K Likes” in a genuine tweet.
No such message on Twitter
The supposed tweet can’t be found in an advanced Twitter search. The deputy president did not tweet on 4 January 2020. Despite media reports, Ruto still maintains that the Jubilee Party is intact. – Dancan Bwire
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