Claim: An X user, @ghanamunsemem, claimed that Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia deleted his tweets from 2013 to 2017.
Verdict: False. A Google search revealed that the tweets of the Vice President from 2013 to 2017 are still visible on his timeline.
Full Text
On Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, at 9:25 pm, an X (formerly known as Twitter) user, @ghanamunsemem, posted that Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia had deleted all his tweets from 2013 to 2017. In the tweet, the user characterised the Vice President as a “fraud,” expressing skepticism about the motivation behind such an action. The tweet stated, “Bawumia has deleted all his tweets from 2013 to 2017. You are a fraud @MBawumia.”
The post has gained significant traction, amassing over 800 likes and more than 54,000 views by 12:57 am on Friday, Dec 8, 2023. Consequently, the tweet has sparked widespread reactions from other users, with some resorting to derogatory comments and condemnation in response to the allegations.
Verification
What happens when a user deletes a tweet?
According to the X help centre, When someone deletes a post, it gets eliminated from the user’s profile, the timelines of the user’s followers, and search outcomes on x.com, X for iOS, and X for Android. It added that any reproductions of the deleted post will likewise be taken down from x.com, X for iOS, and X for Android. A post can’t be found on the X platform once the user deletes it.
Nevertheless, it’s important to note that deleted posts, including tweets, may still be accessible through other platforms, such as the Wayback Machine, a widely recognised digital library. This application enables users to capture and archive web pages, providing a reliable source for future citations. Consequently, if the deleted tweet is discovered on the Wayback Machine or similar platforms, it will be presented as an archival tweet and not attributed to X.
But did the Vice President delete all his tweets from 2012 to 2017?
To resolve this lingering controversy, DUBAWA used the Twitter advanced search tool to track tweets made explicitly by Dr Bawumia between Jan. 1st, 2013, and Dec. 2017—the period during which the vice president was purported to have deleted all his tweets. The findings revealed that tweets authored by Dr Bawumia within this timeframe are still accessible. For instance, there is a tweet from 2013 where Dr Bawumia hosted the National Chief Imam and another from 2017 during his visit to the Teshie Orphanage. Although the claimant didn’t specify any particular messages, DUBAWA confirmed that tweets made by the VP during the period remain accessible.
DUBAWA also captured a screenshot of tweets made by Dr Bawumiah just before the Dec. 2016 elections, as can be seen below;
Again, DUBAWA further conducted a Google search using the query “Dr Bawumia’s tweets from 2013 to 2017.” The objective was to ascertain the existence of tweets from that period, as the user had claimed that these tweets had been deleted. The search yielded a news story published by the online news portal modernghana.com on 27 October 2023. This story revolved around a statement made by a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Felix Kwakye Ofosu, who described as unfortunate a viral tweet from Dr Bawumia that attacked the then government’s management of the economy in 2015.
In this tweet, Dr Bawumia remarked, “The NDC is competent at mismanaging the economy, propaganda, perpetuating DUMSOR, collapsing industries, and failing to fulfill its promises.”
Notably, the link to this tweet was embedded within the story. Upon clicking it, DUBAWA discovered that the tweet, originally published on Dec. 2, 2015, at 12:11 pm, remained accessible on the Vice President’s timeline.
Furthermore, another tweet from March 26, 2014, precisely at 7:36 am, about his lecture on Restoring the Value of the Cedi, was also on the Vice President’s timeline.
Additionally, a tweet from Nov. 23, 2016, published by Dr Bawumia, was identified and remains visible on his timeline.
Conclusion
It is false that the Vice President of Ghana, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, deleted all his tweets from 2013 till 2017.
