TORONTO — The NDP Socialist Caucus recently came under fire by NDP Leadership Candidate Charlie Angus and supporters in response to a tweet made by an account purporting to come from the chair and founder of the caucus, Barry Weisleder.
The Twitter account @socialistcaucus has been operating since November 2014, but is not affiliated in any capacity with the NDP Socialist Caucus, its steering committee, or its members. The owner of the fraudulent account has engaged in divisive, and at times abusive language in response to the current NDP leadership. These actions are not condoned by Barry Weisleder nor by the NDP Socialist Caucus. Weisleder is calling for removal of the fraudulent account, and urges a focus on unity of the left.
“It is disappointing to think that one of our leadership candidates would associate such an account with my personal views, without checking with the NDP Socialist Caucus or myself. The NDP Socialist Caucus has an official twitter account that is active today. The abusive account is fraudulent and we are seeking to have it deactivated. The Socialist Caucus has not yet endorsed a candidate for federal NDP Leader, and we don’t believe in using abusive language or employing petty tactics to advance our views. The left needs to unite. Negative assumptions divide the working class and weaken all of its proponents.”
The NDP Socialist Caucus have reported the account as fraudulent and encourages its supporters to do the same.
“We aren’t sure who is responsible for this, but it is unacceptable to have such immature malefactors posturing as the NDP Socialist Caucus on any platform.”
The NDP Socialist Caucus can be found at @NDPSocialists, ndpsocialists.ca, and Facebook.
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