DMC calls on "Twitter" to end rising fake hashtags in Iraq trend

INA - BAGHDAD 

Digital Media Center (DMC) announced on Saturday, upon the rising trend of "fake hashtags" paid for in Iraq's trend on the "Twitter" platform, coinciding with the approaching parliamentary elections that will take place tomorrow, Sunday.

“The trend in Iraq these days is experiencing the emergence of at least two fake "hashtags" that promote political blocs and competing candidates in the legislative elections," said a member of DMC team, Moamel Shakir, in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

He noted that "Iraq's trend is one of the most obvious manipulations by electronic armies, amid suspicious silence by the Twitter company, which is observing what is happening without offering any solution or any measure to end this manipulation,”

DMC confirmed that "the trend of buying fake "hashtags" exists in many countries, but it began to increased clearly and openly in Iraq in the period leading up to the elections,” pointing out that "there are "brokers" who raise any "hashtag" to Twitter's trend, at prices starting from $200 upwards, with options for the number of tweets that accompany each "hashtag", which is a factor in increasing prices,”

The Center called on Twitter to address these violations in the future, and to “curb the dangerous manipulation that is taking place, which loses the platform's credibility as an important source of news and information,” noting that "Twitter did not provide anything regarding the Iraq elections, as Facebook did on this, has led to a mitigation of the lies and misrepresentations,”