The Ugandan government has disowned Facebook and Instagram pages operating under its name, following a backlash over why it was using social media platforms that were previously restricted to citizens.
Uganda banned Facebook in January 2021, accusing the social media platform of interfering in the affairs of the country.
Mr. Museveni stated two weeks ago that Facebook would remain blocked in the country.
The Facebook and Instagram pages claiming to be official government sites have a “blue badge,” indicating that Facebook has verified them as “the authentic presence of the public figure or global brand it represents.”However, a government statement on Twitter now claims that the accounts are not run by the government.
“On Twitter, the only authentic account of the Government of Uganda,” it says.
We would like to clarify that the Government of Uganda accounts on Facebook and Instagram (Instagram:government_of_uganga and Facebook:Government of the Republic of Uganda) are not run by any government entity. The only authentic account of Government of Uganda is on Twitter. pic.twitter.com/y3IuwSE9CR
— Government of Uganda (@GovUganda) January 5, 2023
The aforementioned Facebook page was established in 2012 and has over 50,000 followers. It published a post commemorating the occasion on New Year’s Day.
Responding to online criticism, a Facebook page purportedly owned by the government stated, “we’re in talks, and we hope to resolve the matter this year.“The Instagram account is clearly more problematic. It misspells Uganda as ‘Uganga,’ and it is registered in Russia.
It was founded in 2020 and has approximately 6,000 followers.
