With the 2025 General Election campaign underway, concerns about fake social media profiles and misinformation are growing.
This has prompted the Ministry of Digital Transformation to emphasise the importance of public awareness.
TTT News spoke with the Ministry’s Communications Officer, Isaiah Colthrust, and Associate Professional Tyler Tewari to understand the issue and how citizens can protect themselves.
Mr. Colthrust explains the challenge of tracking these profiles: “We have been doing a great deal of informing the public because, as you know, these sorts of scams, these sorts of things, it’s almost impossible to track. They come up so quickly, they pop up all over the place, and then they disappear almost overnight. So what we have been trying to do is from a more educating the public level to make sure that no matter how many of these things come out, how much of this misinformation comes out, that people are aware.”
Fake social media profiles have the power to negatively impact a party’s campaign.
Signs that a social media profile is fake include no account history, low or suspicious follower counts, sensational content, and, in some cases, unverified accounts.
Even with this knowledge, Mr. Colthrust said it’s important to remain vigilant.
“Always be asking, Can I trust this? Is this real? Right, because now anything can be faked. Headlines, stories, audio, video, pictures – everything can be fake now, especially with the rise of AI. So you need to always be aware of that and always be asking yourself, Can this be faked?”
One way to do this is to check in with reputable sources for information.
“I don’t mean your WhatsApp group, or your mom, or your dad, or your cousin. I mean sources that whose job it is to verify and then share the news. So news stations, media houses, newspapers, places like TTT. And also the actual agencies that are supposed to have information about this thing.”
So, how can you identify a fake social media profile? Associate Professional at the Ministry of Digital Transformation, Tyler Tewari, said there are several red flags to watch for. In some cases, fake profiles may even impersonate public officials.
“A few big red flags that you could look out for is no account history. So they have no photos of no long term posts and barely any interactions. That’s definitely a big warning sign. They have hardly any followers or only random foreign looking accounts. That’s definitely shady. Look out for that. And over the top content and promises. If it seems too dramatic, or too good to be true, or designed to make you angry, it’s probably fake.”
In Trinidad and Tobago, Facebook and Instagram are the primary platforms where fake profiles and misinformation spread. Ms. Tewari urged users to report suspicious accounts rather than engaging with them.
“I think most of the misinformation that’s being spread, or at least in my personal life, is on Facebook and Instagram. Instagram, mostly for the profiles, the fake profiles, they are rampant on Instagram. And while Instagram does have steps in place, some still slip through the cracks and that’s why you always need to be skeptical, stay vigilant, always. Facebook, I see a lot of posts, so like fake news, opinions that people take wholesale.”
Mr. Colthrust also recommended that political candidates take proactive measures to protect their online presence.
“That is something in our research that we saw isn’t very widespread in Trinidad and Tobago. Is that getting that blue verification checkmark and just explain how to get that is you generally have to start a process with the platforms and give them some level of actual information. Like this is my driver’s license. This is to prove and other information that proves you are who you say you are. So generally, when you see that blue checkmark, it is a big, we talk about red flags, but green light in terms of trusting that profile.”
As the election season intensifies, digital literacy is crucial in safeguarding against misinformation. The Ministry of Digital Transformation encourages the public to stay skeptical, verify sources, and think before sharing.