A parody Twitter account changed it's account name to Indian-American economist Abhijit Banerjee, soon after the latter was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics for 2019 along with two others.
ALSO READ - Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo And Michael Kramer Win 2019 Nobel In Economics
CNBC-TV18 tags fake account
CNBC-TV18 fell for the fake Twitter account and tagged it in a now deleted tweet that read, "@ArvindKejriwal and @MamataOfficial congratulate Abhijit Banerjee (@Polytikle) on Twitter for winning the #NobelPrize in Economics".
Now deleted tweet Click here to view, and here for an archive.
From 'Parody' to 'Economist'
The Twitter account with the user handle (@Polytikle) changed it's account display name to Abhijt Banerjee and started impersonating the economist from it's previous display name 'Not That Swaraj'.
Name change From Not That Swaraj to Abhijit Banerjee Click here to view an archive of the old account.
The handle name (@Polytikle) remained the same which helps confirm both are the same account. The account had over 6500 followers at the time of writing this story.
Additionally, the account changed its profile picture to Abhijit Banerjee's image used in The Noble Prize's tweet and replaced the word 'Parody' in it's profile to 'Economist'.
Fake Account 'Thanks' congratulatory messages coming in
The fake Twitter account went on to accept congratulatory messages by thanking people wishing Banerjee.
Tweet to Arvind Kejriwal Click here to view, and here for an archive.
Tweet to Banerjee Click here to view, and here for an archive.
Tweet to Mevani Click here to view, and here for an archive.
Click here to view an archive of the account's replies.
Several netizens have also been tweeting congratulatory messages to the account.
Tweet BOOM has previously highlighted Fake Twitter accounts impersonating prominent people on Twitter. (here , here )
Also Read: Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo And Michael Kramer Win 2019 Nobel In Economics