(Trinidad Express) Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said a hacker used his Facebook account to advise someone to mute their television when journalists ask questions at the news conferences.
On Deyalsingh’s Facebook page there was a post advising of the news conference for Friday.
One person commented, “Do we have to listen to those MATT apologies for journalists asking irrelevant, dotish and vexing questions?”
The reply from Deyalsingh’s Facebook page to this person was, “Mute your TV during question time…”
The issue was raised yesterday at a virtual news conference by journalist Akash Samaroo who asked Deyalsingh to explain the post. The minister said it was not him and his account had been hacked.
“First of all, my Facebook profile was hacked, I never posted that myself. My Facebook profile has been hacked several times in the past two years,” he said.
He added the history of his Facebook postings would reflect work done in his St Joseph constituency.
“I will never, ever, make a post that is derogatory to media or you or anyone else, so I have to look again that my Facebook profile once again has been hacked,” he said.
Deyalsingh pointed to mischief being carried to create fake news releases.
“In the same way a well-known personality took a Ministry of Health page, letterhead, and under that banner posted something on Facebook. There is so much unwelcome activity on Facebook that we have to manage that,” he said.
He assured that it was never his intention to make any such post, adding, “I did not make it and I hope you accept that in the spirit which it was given.”
Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi also spoke on the issue, saying Government ministers are very busy at work and face sabotage on social media.
“A lot of sabotage happening on the online platform… A lot of news is put out that is misleading – I use that term loosely, in inverted commas, news. Thanks for bringing it to our attention, but we’re literally working almost 24 hours a day,” he said.
Gary, please probe this
Meanwhile, former government minister Devant Maharaj yesterday wrote to Police Commissioner Gary Griffith requesting a probe into the hacking of Deyalsingh’s Facebook account.
“Commissioner, as both you and I can appreciate, the job of a minister (as well as your current capacity) is one with little praise or sympathy from the public, couple this with the admission of the Honourable Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, who in response to the same question seemingly complained about the workload, going on to state ‘we’ve (Cabinet) been working nearly 24 hours a day’.
It is on these bases that I seek the urgent intervention of your office and the relevant department of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, as the minister may not have the time to report this most unfortunate breach of his personal security,” he stated.
“Such an investigation is in keeping with the precedence rightfully set in the past week, whereby which a member of the public was found guilty of and sentenced to serve 30 days for threatening the health, safety and life of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley via the same social media platform. I am of the belief that the rights of the minister has (sic) been compromised and his health (as defined by the World Health Organisation – to include social and mental) threatened by this incident. I hereby wish to request an immediate investigation into the most recent hacking of the Mr Deyalsingh’s Facebook account,” he stated.
