UPDATE: Mr Williams contacted The National after publication and confirmed that his account had been ‘hacked’ by persons unknown and messages were falsely sent out in his name. Mr Williams told us he has no interest in politics.
AN SNP councillor has been left baffled after she was messaged on Twitter by Harlem Globetrotter Harold 'Lefty' Williams, and asked to follow a LibDem council candidate in London.
Councillor Joy Brahim, who represents Dalry & West Kilbride in North Ayrshire Council, received a direct message requesting that she follow Lefty's "friend" Dominic Buxton.
Buxton is a LibDem council candidate for the Shadwell Ward in Tower Hamlets.
The message from Lefty, who has a verified account with 160,000 followers, said: "Hope you're having a great Wednesday so far. Would you mind following my friend's account: @MrDominicBuxton? It's a really cool acount. I'm sure you'd love it.
"account*, not acount - sorry and thanks!"
Another Twitter user reported that he had received identical messages from two other verified accounts, suggesting the users may have been compromised.
Can’t believe one of the #HarlemGlobeTrotters follows me on Twitter! I love it! Thank you @LeftyWilliams42 🏀⛹🏾♂️ pic.twitter.com/mZVqoR2iXo
— Cllr Joy Brahim (@JoyOfTheSNP) March 28, 2018
OK and then this happened. What’s this all about @LibDems @MrDominicBuxton ? pic.twitter.com/Z5iSTNWhI8
— Cllr Joy Brahim (@JoyOfTheSNP) March 28, 2018
.@Twitter I'd like to report suspicious activity on three @verified accounts - @markbland @loudmouthmuch and @LeftyWilliams42 are sending clearly spam DMs. I suspect their accounts are compromised. See attached. pic.twitter.com/jLvpAKFQyT
— Mike Holden #FBPE (@MikeHolden42) March 29, 2018
Brahim reacted with excitement after being followed by the Globetrobber, but that quickly turned to total confusion after the message.
She told The National: "I don’t even know what’s going on. At first I thought, oh a Harlem Globetrotter.
"A couple of minutes later I got this private message to follow a London LibDem council candidate.
"I used to watch the Harlem Globetrotters all the time when I was kid – it was amazing. But this is all a bit odd.
"I’m waiting for an answer from the LibDems and the councillor in question.
"I’m not accusing them of any anything untoward. For all I know, he knows this guy!
"I don’t know if Lefty’s even aware his account is being used for this though, because I can’t quite imagine him sending this message. That's really my concern.
"Are people receiving messages from other people’s accounts, private messages asking them to follow random council candidates? What’s going on? Does he know this guy? If I was the council candidate I’d want to look into it."
Since tweeting Buxton asking for an answer the LibDem has followed Brahim – but there's been no explanation yet.
Williams was the first left-handed member of the Globetrotters, playing with the famed side for seven years.
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