The imposter sought to gain the group's trust by giving details of Pang's background and recent work, Badiucao said.īadiucao said he became suspicious at the language and questions posed by the imposter and asked to verify the person's identity through Pang's verified Twitter account. 'I am Jessie with Reuters.' The imposter then asked two members of the group, 'Do you two have any ties to Citizens Daily?' 'Hello everyone,' an imposter wrote in a Telegram chatroom, according to screenshots seen by Reuters that were provided by Badiucao.

Another activist told Reuters he had conversed with a fake persona of Goh via Telegram for three months.īadiucao tweeted that he had been approached on Telegram by someone purporting to be Pang, asking for information on a Chinese-language online platform called Citizens Daily that carries protest art. FILE - Instagram app logo is displayed on a mobile screen.Ī fake account was set up on Instagram and one on Telegram purporting to be Pang, according to screen grabs from Badiucao seen by Reuters.

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