Who is @Peter_Kruyt?

NewsLaura Beeston — Published October 11, 2011

Update on Oct 11: follow the new fake Peter Kruyt @P_Kruyt.

During a heated Board of Governors meeting Sept. 28, while Chairman Peter Kruyt effectively killed future undergraduate student representation on the Board, another Peter Kruyt was born.

He goes by @Peter_Kruyt.

A self-proclaimed “insubordinate satirist” that’s been mocking the real Board Chair on Twitter since the meeting, @Peter_Kruyt has been following administrators, faculty, student politicos and editors of The Link newspaper—offering his darkly comic two cents on the happenings around campus.

“I’ve received news that there is a Peter Kruyt impersonator online,” wrote the satirist on Oct. 4. “I will beat free speech down his throat once my lawyers choke him.”

Once @Peter_Kruyt got some online attention, members of The Link’s editorial team received phone calls from the university administration asking if we knew who was behind the impressionist, as “appropriate measures” were being taken to take down the account. [Editor’s note: Our guess is as good as any.]
Since then, the university has also contacted Twitter.

“They do have their own procedures and have been alerted,” said Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota. “They will do whatever it is that they do. Are our lawyers getting involved? Absolutely not. We just thought it appropriate that we alert them and they will deal with it.”

While Twitter’s “small and quite busy” communications team in San Francisco was unable to speak directly with The Link about Concordia’s impersonation complaint, they did direct us to the Twitter Rules regarding impersonation and parody.

Officially, Twitter allows for parody, commentary and fan accounts that include role-playing, but impersonation is in violation of the Twitter Rules if it is done in a manner that is intended to mislead, confuse or deceive.

That said, “Twitter provides a platform for its users to share and receive a wide range of ideas and content, and we greatly value and respect our users’ expression,” read the rules, “and will not censor user content, except in limited circumstances.”

Twitter also makes suggestions to ensure member accounts are permissible, suggesting a clarification is added to a users’ bio to distinguish the account as ‘fake’ in some way. Accounts with a clear intent to deceive may be suspended.

While it’s hard to say if the account is fair comment or not until Twitter weighs in, @Peter_Kruyt keeps doing his thing online, while the real Peter Kruyt continues to refuse interviews with the media.

Since the Board controversially dismissed former President Judith Woodsworth last December, Kruyt has reportedly refused interviews with CJAD, The Gazette and Maclean’s magazine, among others.

“Peter is not doing any interviews at all,” said Mota. “It’s out of no disrespect to the student press, it’s just [his decision] across the board. He’s not doing interviews and that has not changed.”

Until the real Peter Kruyt breaks his ‘no comment’ rule, however, there is an alternative to follow—for the time being.

“I sincerely hope @Concordia nabs that satirist mocking me on the Internet and make ‘em pay with their life prospects,” wrote Peter_Kruyt “No mercy.”

This article originally appeared in Volume 32, Issue 07, published October 11, 2011.