A Twitter account with the handle @MinRonaAmbrose wrote a series of tweets that claimed Rona Ambrose, the current minister of health, was resigning her post and not seeking re-election.
The account is fake, and has now been suspended. One reason it gained attention is that @MinRonaAmbrose is the old Twitter handle used by the minister. She changed it to @RonaAmbrose in late May. Someone grabbed the old name and used it to spread a hoax.
Prior to sending the resignation tweets, the fake handle had been tweeting out real details about the minister's activities, thus making it seem like a credible account.
As a result, some treated the tweeted resignation as real.
Eventually, some people spoke up and called out the hoax.
Journalist Andrew Coyne had some fun with the fact that the fake account had birthed some false rumors about Ambrose.
Some wondered whether the minister's new handle indicated other changes to come in her career.
Michael Bolkenius, the spokesman for Minister Ambrose, told BuzzFeed Canada that she changed her Twitter name to make it shorter. As for the other speculation, he said "It’s pretty clear that the minister is going to run again."