The lack of blue verified ticks has made things a little confusing it seems.
Tributes have been pouring in from all corners of the world for Irish singer and songwriter Sinéad O’Connor following her untimely death at 56. She was a much loved and admired person, and will be sorely missed, which was evident in the flood of tweets and social posts commemorating her life.
One such tribute came from a Seamus Heaney fan account. We understand without the verified blue ticks it can make things tricky, but any Irish person would immediately recognise the account as a fan account for two fairly big reasons.
A great Irish poet and singer left us today.
She was beautiful, courageous and wore her heart on her sleeve. She was before her time.
Nothing will ever compare to Sinéad O’Connor.
Rest easy Sinéad. pic.twitter.com/wBpRjV2Eol
— Seamus Heaney (@HeaneyDaily) July 26, 2023
One, Seamus Heaney has been dead for almost ten years, and two, even if he wasn’t, we highly doubt being on Twitter would be a top priority for him.
However, several UK media outlets saw the tweet and added it to their list of tributes regardless. Which would be fine – it’s a lovely tribute after all – if they didn’t actually think that Seamus Heaney had tweeted it himself.
https://twitter.com/davidcochrane/status/1684283012274434050?s=20
Sky News were not the only media outlet to cite the tribute account as if it was actually the late poet himself. The Guardian were forced to update their piece with the following message.
https://twitter.com/davidcochrane/status/1684491307287183361?s=20
The Daily Mail also cited the tribute account as Seamus Heaney himself. It should be noted that each of these media outlets have since changed their articles to reflect that the account was a tribute account, and not the late poet’s.
From the Daily Mail.
Seamus Heaney?
The deceased Seamus Heaney? pic.twitter.com/anT1UUARGs
— Tony Dowson (@TonyDowson5) July 26, 2023
At least they didn’t try to claim Sinéad as British – or Seamus for that matter.
Header images via Getty
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– Sinéad O’Connor’s family release a statement following the death of the singer
