Outgoing President's Fake Facebook Profile Shocks Bulgarian Users

On top: the fake Facebook profile of the outgoing president with the shocking comments; below – the reaction on the official Facebook page of the President.

Comments, posted on the wall of a fake Facebook profile of Bulgaria's President, Georgi Parvanov, regarding the outcome of the country's presidential elections stirred wide-spread confusion Tuesday.

The check of the profile preformed by Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) and Novinite.bg, which further included an inquiry with the press center of the presidential institution, confirmed the profile and the comments are fake.

On the profile, boasting a picture of the outgoing president in a formal suit with the American flag on the background, there are comments that Rosen Plevneliev, former Regional Minister and candidate of the ruling center-right party GERB, has won the presidential elections by playing "unfairly."

These comments were presented as serious news by several leading Bulgarian news sites in the early afternoon Tuesday and led to a swift reaction on the official Facebook page of Georgi Parvanov, where comments read as follows:

"I remind that I have expressed my attitude towards Plevneliev's victory in an official congratulation to him. A fill give a full assessment of the election process and my opinion on current political events at the end of the week."

Other comments on the wall of the fake profile, posted earlier, appeared quite different than Parvanov's usual style of expression:

"God Helps Us!" and "Congratulations to Mr. Plevneliev, but it is difficult for me to say for the "fair win" regretfully this year once again the selling and buying of votes were a fact. It is difficult to talk about democracy in such political situation."

The Presidential press center confirmed for Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency), and Novinite.bg that the only true official Facebook page of the outgoing President is the one where he is pictured in a white t-shirt. Georgi Parvanov uses only the said page and does not have a profile – all other profiles are fake, the press center pointed out.

Despite the confusion, the style of writing so untypical for the politician, triggered suspicions in some users. One of them wrote on the profile's wall the following:

"I am asking the administrators of this page if Parvanov really participates here? Is he commenting in person on the issues discussed? Did he write God Helps Us? If it was not him, who was it?"

Other users, who knew about the President's official page, either were dumbfounded by the news reports or began joking, writing on the fake profile's wall:

"Ha, ha, see what you have said?" (with the news pasted)

"Where us the text the victory was unfair? Such statement is not typical for the style of the President. I am not saying the elections were fair or not; I simply want to know where this is? (with the news pasted)

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