THE Twitter account formerly used by a prominent Yes campaigner has been taken over by an anonymous Unionist troll.
Colin Dunn, who used the Twitter handle @zarkwan, stepped back from social media earlier this year.
He shut down his account on that platform, where he had more than 10,000 followers, and on Facebook.
In a statement from July, Dunn said he had stepped back as he felt the “energy and dedication” of the grassroots of the Yes movement was being squandered.
He added: “There can be no real progress without there being an actual, real and genuine formal independence campaign sanctioned by the SNP, as only they have the legal and political power and legitimacy to trigger a second referendum.
“And despite repeated assurances and many false dawns, they are doing nothing about it.”
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Dunn was well respected in the independence movement and well known for his posters which presented quotes and facts around the constitutional debate in an accessible format.
His website, indyposterboy.scot, is still live.
Now, an anonymous Unionist troll using Dunn’s old Twitter handle is going by the name “Indyref Posters”. It is also using his old profile picture, and claims to be based in the same location in Scotland.
The anonymous account makes clear it is not being run by Dunn, saying in its bio: “The new indyref poster guy account exposing the lies of Colin Dunn who previously used this account name. Let’s set the record straight.”
It also contains a link to a Google drive account containing versions of Dunn’s posters edited to be pro-Union.
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These posters are in a folder created by one Phil MacDonald, whose email address is also visible.
The first of these says that Ireland is the only country ever to leave the UK, and that this led to “civil war” and “humiliation”.
Another uses a picture of Dunn originally posted on social media by Lesley Riddoch and says the account will be used to “correct all the errors and lies that he made up”.
These pictures featured in the troll’s earliest posts, which began in mid-August of this year.
Colin Dunn told The National that "nothing illustrates the paucity of their arguments better than pinching someone else’s work instead of developing their own".
Phil MacDonald has been approached for comment.
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