Meet @jessica05181, a Twitter account with 32K followers that ostensibly belongs to a @Guardian reporter by the name of "Jessica Claire". As is often the case, things are not as they seem.
cc: @ZellaQuixote
A Google search of the Guardian's website for "Jessica Claire" turns up no articles written by anyone named "Jessica Claire", and although @jessica05181 has shared 111 @Guardian articles on Twitter, none of the authors have names remotely similar to "Jessica Claire".
As it turns out, @jessica05181 (permanent ID 1036130530666983425), wasn't always named @jessica05181. Previous names include @Adrian84474494 (which may be its original handle) and @thrawedmclag, and at least one early reply refers to it as "Adrian".
The only photograph posted thus far by @jessica05181 is an outdoor scene of grass and trees... and it is also a stock photo that has been used on a variety of websites.
Although the majority of @jessica05181's tweets are links to news sites), the account has espoused two political positions generally seen at opposite ends of the political spectrum:
• pro-Brexit tweets in early 2019
• anti-Guo/Bannon tweets in 2021
Finally, at least 5560 of @jessica05181's followers appear to have been gained via the "Round Year Fun" Twitter malware apps ("My Twitter Family", "My Twitter Crush", etc), which stealthily causes unwitting users to follow the customers of a site that sells Twitter followers.
More on Round Year Fun/"My Twitter Family" and the associated follower sales site realactivefollowers(dot)com in these threads:
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