Premier Andrew Fahie on Monday condemned a fake news article he said has been circulating via social media under the headline “Financial inspection: Andrew Fahie risks 10 years in prison for Virgin Islanders using his new app to ‘get rich too fast.’”
Mr. Fahie also noted that the publication — which he said “purports to be some kind of euro-news site” — contains several links that are likely connected to malware that could damage a user’s computer.
The article carried the sub-headline “Virgin Islander citizens are already raking in millions of dollars from home using this ‘wealth loophole’ — but is it legitimate?” the premier said, adding that it contained numerous falsities.
“There is no body in the Virgin Islands named the ‘Virgin Islander Financial Supervisory Body’ as quoted and referenced in the false-news publication,” he said. “There is no bitcoin or other crypto platform in the Virgin Islands called ‘Bitcoin Revolution’ as quoted and referenced in the false-news publication. Since this platform does not exist, it follows that claims that myself and ‘thousands of Virgin Islanders’ have become sudden millionaires or are earning large amounts of money from this fictitious platform are false.”
He also denied granting an interview to the website and said any quotes attributed to him are “100 percent fabrications.”
Previous fake news
The premier recalled that similar fake news circulated on social media about 11 months ago.
“That the Virgin Islands’ people and reputation continue to be targeted by these malicious acts is of concern,” he said. “That this latest round of attack against me as the elected leader of the Virgin Islands — and also against the wider Virgin Islands public and our territory’s international reputation — has come in the midst of a commission of inquiry in which the Virgin Islands’ political status hangs in the balance is very curious, and we condemn it.”